The Rising Sun Volume 1
by charliepaceluver117
Summary: COMPLETED- Sunpaw is surrounded by a mysterious prophecy as she tries to live her day-by-day life, and she begins to realize that everything isn't as perfect as she thought... really bad at summaries, please read
1. Prologue

Prologue

Prologue

A single cat sat in a clearing, surrounded by bodies that were in eternal sleep. He had midnight black fur and deep blue eyes, so it was almost impossible to see him without the help of the stars overhead. He was filled with grief, of shock, of sadness, yet he knew there was something else he should have his mind on, and this was not it.

"Why must there be so many deaths in the world," he said in a whisper, sighing deeply. He was almost afraid of disturbing the cats around him by speaking loudly, even though they were dead.

"It is life." The black tom turned around in surprise when he heard another cat. It was a she-cat, a slender, long-legged tortoiseshell she-cat, and she was slowly approaching the nervous tom. When she got to him, she calmly sat down next to him, wrapping her long tail gracefully around her paws.

"Who are you?" the black tom asked, noticing the stars that were mixed in with her pelt. "I have not seen you before . . . You have never come to me before."

"I had no need to see you in the past because you did not need me then." When the she-cat continued, she dropped her voice to a more serious tone. "You need me now."

The black tom stood up sharply at this remark. "Everything is fine in our camp! Wait . . . what are you not telling me?"

"I have nothing to discuss now, but I just came to tell you that you and your Clanmates' lives are about to be changed forever, and that what is in front of you is only the beginning. Good-bye." And with that, the she-cat stood up, flexed her claws, arched her back while yawning, and walked off, but not before she called, "Oh, and it is time for the sun to come, Blacksky. Say hi to the kits for me!"

And with that, the she-cat padded away, leaving the tom in a state of confusion just as he yawned and unwillingly fell asleep . . .

"Blacksky, are you okay?" A small nudge made the black tom, Blacksky, awaken. When his eyes opened, he felt relieved to know that he was back in his clan's camp, peacefully sleeping in his den. He was the medicine cat of his clan, SunClan, so he slept in the nursery, which was also where all injured and sick cats went for treatment.

The cat who had nudged him was his apprentice, Quailpaw. She was small for her age, and she had a mottled pelt and green eyes. But she was also very wise for her age, and she was smart and always calm, just like the cat in his dream. He could usually trust her with his dreams, but he needed to speak to their leader first.

"Ripplestar?" he called, entering the leader's den. Her den was hollowed out at the bottom of a very large boulder, and it was covered with moss on the ground. Ripplestar was a beautiful gray she-cat with long silver stripes down her back and pale blue eyes. They blinked open wearily, but when she saw Blacksky she immediately leapt up.

"What is it, Blacksky? What's wrong?" she asked.

"I- I had a dream, and I think it's important," the black tom said, trying to remember what had happened in his dream.

"Was it a sign from StarClan? If it is we should warn the clan, even if it is only dawn." Ripplestar spoke too loudly and woke one of the warriors up. Blacksky noticed that it was Stormhawk, the muscular brown tabby tom deputy. Noticing that he and Ripplestar were talking, Stormhawk slowly walked over, shaking his fur.

"Good morning, Stormhawk," Ripplestar said pleasantly. The tom curtly nodded. _He always was grumpy in the morning_, Blacksky thought, purring. But then he turned his attention back to the dream.

"Yes, it was from StarClan, I think. I was sitting in a clearing, and there were dead cats all around me. Then, an unknown she-cat walked to me, telling me our lives are going to be changed forever and that the field would only be the beginning. She also said that it was time for the sun to come." Blacksky pondered over it, trying to figure it out.

"Well, we _are _SunClan. Do you think that means anything?" Stormhawk asked, but Blacksky shook his head. It couldn't be _that_ simple.

"Did the she-cat say anything else?" Ripplestar pressed.

Blacksky shrugged. "She only said to tell the kits she said hi- of course!" Blacksky, Stormhawk, and Ripplestar padded across the camp to the nursery, where three queens were sleeping peacefully. Two kits were cuddled next to the older queen, a beautiful dark tortoiseshell with amber eyes. Other kits were sleeping by one of the other queens.

"Thrushwing, are you awake?" Stormhawk asked quietly.

The tortoiseshell yawned and then looked up. Her eyes widened when she saw all the cats staring at her. "Yes?" she asked. "What is it?"

"Well, we were wondering if you had named your kits yet," Blacksky said soothingly.

Obviously Thrushwing didn't understand why they were asking her this so early in the morning, but she replied anyway. "Well, no. Deersprint and I aren't positive, but we think we're going to name this little guy (a small dusky brown tom with amber eyes) Acornkit. As for the she-cat . . . I'm not sure." The she-cat was golden yellow, and she had pale orange stripes and amber eyes. Blacksky looked at Ripplestar and nodded.

"Thrushwing, I think Blacksky has a name for the kit," Ripplestar said.

"Yes," Blacksky said, and then he continued, "I had a dream. I think it was telling me that you must name your kit . . . Sunkit."

Thrushwing gasped. "Sunkit?! After our great leader, Sunstar? Are you sure, Blacksky?" Blacksky nodded, fatigue starting to overpower him. "Very well . . . her name will be Sunkit." And with that, Thrushwing curled tighter against her kits and fell back asleep. Ripplestar told Stormhawk to get a few more hours of sleep, before she needed patrols, so soon only Blacksky was left.

Sighing, he stretched and settled back down into his nest. _I need to retire; I'm getting too old for this._


	2. Allegiances

Allegiances

**Before you continue reading this, let me just ask you to bear with me. I know I'm not the greatest writer, and my story probably won't be the best in detail or anything like that, but I have worked really hard on it, and even if you don't like it, please review and tell me what's wrong with it so I can change things around. Okay, sorry to be all negative. Enjoy! **

Allegiances

SunClan

Leader- Ripplestar- gray she-cat with silver stripes along her back and pale blue eyes

Deputy- Stormhawk- muscular brown tabby with stormy gray eyes; mate- Whitemist

Medicine Cat- Quailfeather- small mottled she-cat with big green eyes

Warriors-

-Ashwhisker- battle-scarred gray tom with green eyes; mate- Starlight

- Thrushwing- beautiful dark tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes; mate- Deersprint

- Whitemist- long-haired white she-cat with light blue eyes; mate- Stormhawk

- Seastone- she-cat with soft gray fur and dark blue eyes

- Snowfur- timid young snowy white tom with green eyes

- Eagleflight- golden brown tabby tom with amber eyes; mate- Silvermoon

- Deersprint- brown tabby tom with white specks on his back and green eyes; mate- Thrushwing

- Birchwind- small creamy brown tom with amber eyes; mate- Rainfall

- Bluejay- blue-gray tom with bright blue eyes; mate-Robinsong

Apprentices-

-Sunpaw- golden yellow she-cat with long, pale orange stripes and amber eyes; mentor- Whitemist

- Blackpaw- small, black tom with a white tip on his tail and two white paws with blue eyes; mentor- Ashwhisker

- Acornpaw- dusky brown tom with amber eyes; mentor- Eagleflight

- Morningpaw- long-limbed gray tabby she-cat with pale green eyes; mentor- Stormhawk

- Minnowpaw- skinny silver tom with blue eyes; mentor- Birchwind

Queens-

-Starlight- pale yellow, almost cream-colored she-cat with amber eyes, oldest nursery queen; mate- Ashwhisker (kits- Cinderkit)

-Robinsong- gray-blue she-cat with a surprisingly red-brown chest and startling green eyes; mate- Bluejay (kits- Jaykit, Hawkkit, Swallowkit)

-Rainfall- pale gray she-cat with darker gray specks and blue eyes; mate- Birchwind (kits- Mudkit, Mousekit)

-Silvermoon- delicate silver tabby with tiny gray specks and gray eyes; mate- Eagleflight

Elders-

-Nightshade- old dark gray tom with a long scar down his cheek

-Blacksky- midnight black tom with knowing blue eyes, former medicine cat (retired due to lack of sight)

-Oceanwave- once-beautiful dappled gray she-cat with green eyes

- Smokecloud- light gray tom with big green eyes

MoonClan

Leader- Stonestar- muscular gray tabby tom with piercing blue eyes

Deputy- Leafripple- pale gray tabby she-cat with rippling darker gray stripes and calm green eyes

Medicine Cat- Pebblefoot- brown tabby tom with dark gray feet

Warriors-

-Clawear- broad-shouldered white tom with badly-clawed ears

- Pondpelt- sleek blue-gray she-cat with dark blue eyes

- Marshtail- brown-speckled gray she-cat with green eyes

- Longclaw- huge black tom with unusually long claws

- Sleekfur- long, sleek gray tabby tom with amber eyes

Apprentices-

-Moonpaw- beautiful, silvery-white she-cat with big blue eyes (mentor- Pondpelt)

-Lilypaw- small brown she-cat with eyes the color of lily-pads (mentor- Sleekfur)

-Rockpaw- large brown tabby tom with amber-brown eyes (mentor- Longclaw)

Queens-

-Salmonstripe- dark gray tabby with light silver stripes (kits- Reedkit and Fishkit)

- Firepoppy- bright orange she-cat with amber eyes

Elders-

-Oldbrook- small, physically weak brown tabby she-cat but with fiery amber eyes

-Brushfire- brown tabby tom with a hint of orange in his pelt

-Silverflower- silver tabby she-cat with a gray tail and chest

SkyClan

Leader- Willowstar- slender, milky brown she-cat with amber eyes

Deputy- Windyfur- white she-cat with faint gray stripes

Medicine Cat- Duskcloud- ginger-brown tom with green eyes

Warriors-

-Breezepelt- pale gray tabby tom

-Lonestripe- pale tabby tom with one black stripe

-Windwhisker- pale tabby tom with long, whispy whiskers

-Grayfoot- solid black she-cat with gray paws

Apprentices-

-Moorpaw- dark brown tabby tom with usually narrowed green eyes (mentor- Windwhisker)

-Skypaw- small tortoiseshell tom with a white tail and chest, and sky blue eyes (mentor- Lonestripe)

Queens-

-Heathertail- long-haired brown tabby (kits- Gingerkit, Berrykit, Daisykit, and Speckledkit)

Elders- Hillstep- long-legged brown tabby she-cat

CloudClan

Leader- Shadowstar- black tom with dark gray specks

Deputy- Darkpine- very dark brown tom with dark green eyes

Medicine Cat- Smalltail- black and white tom with a very small tail

Warriors-

-Pineforest- light brown she-cat with darker flecks and leaf-green eyes

-Woodtail- large gray tom with a dark brown tail

-Marshfur- blue-gray tom with dark amber eyes

-Rippedwhisker- dark gray tom with almost all his whiskers ripped out

-Deadleaf- small tortoiseshell she-cat

Apprentices-

-Thistlepaw- black and gray tom with very sharp claws (mentor- Rippedwhisker)

-Cloudpaw- very pale gray, almost white, tom with amber eyes (mentor- Marshfur)

-Smoothpaw- gray tabby she-cat with small white specks (mentor- Smalltail)

Queens-

-Creekflood- long-haired blue-gray she-cat with amber eyes

-Swamppelt- dark tortoiseshell she-cat with murky green eyes (kit- Frogkit)

Elders-

-Toadcroak- brown tabby she-cat with an old, scratchy throat

-Foresttail- red tom with a dark brown speckled tail


	3. Chapter 1

Allegiances

Chapter 1

"Sunkit, get up!" Sun filtered through the trees in the forest, shining down onto the many cats of SunClan. Sunkit yawned and blinked her eyes open, finding herself in the nursery. She was so excited; today was the day that announced her and her brother's sixth moon. They were becoming apprentices that night! Speaking of Acornkit . . .

"What are you doing?" she complained, kicking her brother away weakly. Acornkit shook his dusky brown fur and hissed, flattening his ears playfully.

"Come on, let's play, Sunkit," her brother asked. He leaped at her, trying to start a play-fight, but she only pushed him off. "You're no fun," he huffed and then went to wake the other kits.

Sunkit yawned and, realizing she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, went to see Quailfeather, their medicine cat. She had only become their official medicine cat 4 moons ago when Blacksky, their previous medicine cat, retired. He said he was far too old to continue working like that, plus his eyes were slowly giving out. Sunkit didn't mind though; she could barely remember Blacksky as their medicine cat now, since he retired when she was so young.

"Hi Quailfeather," she mewed to the mottled she-cat.

"Oh, hello Sunkit, you're up early," Quailfeather meowed with her usual friendly tone. She was sorting some of her herbs: juniper, dock, feverfew, but she stopped to talk to the kit.

"You can thank Acornkit for that," Sunkit said, purring. She really did love her brother, despite how annoying he could be.

"Hey Sunkit, I was wondering if you could do me a favor." When Sunkit nodded, Quailfeather continued. "Could you bring these herbs to your mom and the other queens? I would but I have to finish taking care of Smokecloud. He may be an elder, but he's still a kit at heart; he always gets things in his claws and fur."

Nodding her head, Sunkit bounded back across to the other side of the nursery. She did love being in the nursery; it was cool when it needed to be and warm when it needed to be. The brambles and thistles were also very good protection.

"There you are, Sunkit," came a calm mew. It was Thrushwing, Sunkit's dark tortoiseshell mother. She was licking the fur between Acornkit's ears, which he impatiently complained about. "Oh, stop that wining, Acornkit." Then she looked at her daughter again. "Where'd you go?"

"Just to say hi to Quailfeather." Then she remembered the pile of herbs she had placed on the ground in front of her. "She told me to give these herbs to all of the queens. Here you go, Mama."

"Thank you, Sunkit," Thrushwing replied sweetly, and then she got back to work cleaning Acornkit, who was still wailing.

Next to Thrushwing were four she-cats, three of them already suckling kits. Two of them, a pale gray she-cat and a cream colored one, were both awake while the other two, a delicate silver tabby and a gray-blue she-cat, were still sleeping. Sunkit slowly approached the queens so she wouldn't frighten them.

"Hi Sunkit," the pale gray she-cat mewed pleasantly. "You're up early; it's just a little past dawn."

"I know, Rainfall. How are Mudkit and Mousekit?" she asked, looking at her two kits. Mudkit, a creamy brown tom with amber eyes, was slowly struggling to awaken. His brother, Mousekit, was a slightly darker tom with blue eyes, and he was the bigger of the two, despite his name. He was also lying on top of Mudkit.

"Oh, they're fine, but I can tell they're going to be an adventurous duo. What do you have there?"

"Quailfeather wanted you and all the queens to have these; I think it's to try to prevent any major sicknesses."

"I'm not eating any herbs unless they come from Quailfeather herself." Sunkit turned her head and saw the pale yellow, cream colored queen glancing down at the herbs. Sunkit gulped but walked forward cautiously.

"Please Starlight, it's for the future. I'm sure Cinderkit would love seeing his mom healthy and happy, instead of sick and grumpy," Sunkit pointed out. Because Cinderkit was only a moon younger than her, she had developed a brother-sister bond with him, and they loved talking about their moms. Cinderkit wasn't afraid to say that his mom was a grouchy she-cat at times, and that made him hilarious.

After a few moments of hesitation, Starlight sighed and, while looking lovingly at her sleeping son, said, "Fine, I'll eat it, but that doesn't mean I'll like it."

That left the two remaining queens, who were now stirring because of the noise Sunkit and Starlight had made. The silver she-cat, small in frame but very large in the belly, had a confused look on her face when she saw the other cats.

"Is there something going on?" she asked, her voice high and quiet, as usual. The final queen rubbed against her pelt, gray-blue fur mixing with silver.

"Yeah," she started, "did Silvermoon and I miss something here?"

Sunkit sighed; this didn't need all of this attention. "No, Robinsong, I just need all the queens to eat these herbs." Then she walked back to her mom, clearly exhausted and tired already, though it was just the early morning. She yawned widely and decided to take a quick nap . . .

"Take that, lousy CloudClan warrior! I'll rip you to shreds if you take one more step." Sunkit blinked her eyes open again to see who was making that noise. She purred when she saw Robinsong's kits attacking each other playfully. Sunkit loved that game, when you pretended to be warriors fighting other Clans, but she didn't want to play and pretend. Tonight she would be one step closer to actually being a _real_ SunClan warrior.

"Hi Sunkit, can you help me?" came the voice of Robinsong's smallest kit, Swallowkit. She had dark gray fur and green eyes, and she was currently trying to go against both of her siblings. "They're too strong for me."

"We taught that CloudClan cat a lesson!" the only tom mewed. He fluffed out his brown tabby fur and stared at Sunkit with big green eyes. "Didn't we, Sunkit?"

Sunkit purred. "Yes you did, Hawkkit" she said, and then in a whisper, "don't give up on them, Swallowkit. They'll give out."

This left Jaykit, a blue-gray she-cat with dark blue eyes. She looked like a smaller copy of her dad, Bluejay, and she had the same personality, too. All paw but absolutely no claw. "Are you on her side, Sunkit? I'll take you down, too, you CloudClan scum!" But Sunkit shook her head, suppressing a purr of laughter. When she reminded them that she would be an apprentice soon, they all drooped their heads.

"But who will play with us once you and Acornkit go?" Hawkkit asked.

"Yeah, Mudkit and Mousekit are too little, and Cinderkit is boring!" Jaykit exclaimed. Swallowkit sighed deeply.

_Speaking of Acornkit, _Sunkit thought, peering around the nursery. _I better find him so he doesn't get in trouble and stop us from becoming apprentices!_ "Just think, you guys will be apprentices in less than three months; that's no time!"

Saying good-bye to the kits, Sunkit quietly walked out of the nursery into the SunClan camp. It was in a small clearing in the forest, and it was protected with many brambles and thistles, plus a few trees close together. Sun still found its way into the camp, especially during the middle of the day; there was a spot that wasn't guarded by trees so the sun shone directly down at them. Cats loved to bask in it and share tongues together. But Acornkit wasn't anywhere in the camp that Sunkit could see. _Where'd he go? _She thought impatiently.

As Sunkit continued to glance around, three of her Clanmates approached her. The one in the front was Ashwhisker, a battle-scarred gray tom with green eyes. He was one of the senior warriors, and he was also Starlight's mate. In fact, once Cinderkit became an apprentice, they would both probably join the elders.

"Sunkit, what are you doing out of the nursery?" he asked.

"I- I was only looking for Acornkit, but he probably just went to make dirt," Sunkit replied nervously. She knew they were her Clanmates and no threat to her at all, but she couldn't help feel intimidated.

"Maybe . . . but I didn't see him when we went by." The cat who spoke was a beautiful long-haired white she-cat with light blue eyes. Sunkit had seen her in the nursery a few times when she was little; her name was Whitemist, and there was something about her that Sunkit admired. "What about you, Birchwind?"

Birchwind was the last of the trio, and he was a small creamy brown tom with amber eyes. Recently becoming a warrior, he always seemed closer to the kits and apprentices, mostly because he just was one. Plus, he was Rainfall's mate. "I don't remember," he admitted. "He might've been there, but I wasn't really paying attention. Sorry, Sunkit."

Sunkit's tail fell to the ground and her heart sunk. Where was her brother? Yes, he was a brown-pelted mischievous, sometimes troublesome tom, but he _never_ left the camp (even though he did want to). She was about to walk back to the nursery, but Whitemist stopped her first.

"How about we ask Ripplestar to form a patrol and search outside the camp for Acornkit?" she suggested. Sunkit's eyes lit up, agreeing immediately . . . .

"Can't I go, too?" Sunkit wined to the patrol. Ripplestar had ordered Ashwhisker, Birchwind, and Seastone, a dark blue-eyed she-cat with soft gray fur, to explore one area around the camp while Whitemist, Thrushwing, and Deersprint were exploring the other part.

"No," came a stern call from her father, Deersprint. He was a brown tabby tom with white specks, and he had green eyes.

"You're still a kit; there will be plenty of adventures once you become an apprentice," agreed Thrushwing, her eyes wide in anxiousness. She could not believe that Acornkit had walked out of camp alone. He was with her before she had settled down to take a nap, but he was not there when she awoke. Now she was frantic; clearly Sunkit wasn't the only worried one.

Before the patrols headed out, Thrushwing called to the queens. "Watch out for Sunkit, okay?" Sunkit sighed sadly, even though she knew she wouldn't have been allowed to come. The only thing left to do was go to the nursery and wait . . . or pretend to wait. _I have an idea! _She thought and then raced to the nursery to put her plan to work.


	4. Chapter 2

Allegiances

Chapter 2

Sunkit anxiously sat in the nursery. Around her, the queens were resting and taking care of their kits, but she knew they were all secretly watching to make sure she wouldn't run off. Part of her plan was already happening, even though she didn't even do anything. Starlight had taken a break and was out in the forest, getting some water for Cinderkit, who was currently sleeping, and Rainfall was visiting Quailfeather with her kits to talk, although every now and then she would look back at Sunkit, trying to cover it up by purring.

The first thing Sunkit had to do was take care of Silvermoon. Yes, she was very emotional and would feel horrible that she let Thrushwing down, but it was what had to be done.

"Silvermoon, are you okay?" she asked, padding up to the silver tabby.

"Yes, I think so . . ." Silvermoon cocked her head in thought, as if suddenly she didn't know if she was okay or not. "Well, I do have a slight headache . . ."

"You have to go see Quailfeather immediately!" Sunkit exclaimed. "Before it gets any worse, you know."

Silvermoon slowly got up and paced over to the other side of the nursery. _Three down, one to go,_ Sunkit thought. She had to wait a little before going to Robinsong, though, so it wouldn't seem too obvious and give away everything. After all, Robinsong may not be as cranky as Starlight, but she sure can be as strict.

"Hey Robinsong, I have to go make dirt," she finally mewed to the gray-blue queen.

Robinsong narrowed her eyes slightly. "I don't know . . ."

"_Robinsong,_" Sunkit wined.

Finally Robinsong sighed. "Fine, but you'll need an apprentice. Blackpaw!" she called, spotting a black tom with a white tail tip and two white paws. When he approached her, Robinsong continued, "Please take Sunkit to where you make dirt, and make sure she comes _right back_."

Blackpaw groaned but agreed and waited outside the nursery for Sunkit, who was thinking of what to do. She wasn't counting on having an apprentice _follow_ her to where she was going, but it wasn't going to be that big of a problem. Getting rid of him would be easy; he seemed as dumb as a rabbit.

As they were walking out of camp, Sunkit heard the apprentice muttering to himself.

"I can't believe they're making me take kits to make dirt now. I can go no lower." Sunkit wanted to hiss at him, but she thought better. It would be better to just stay quiet and escape quickly and quietly; that'll teach him to say this job was meaningless (_even though it really is,_ she thought with a meow of laughter).

"Okay, you wait here," Sunkit said when they made it to the spot. Blackpaw obviously didn't enjoy listening to a kit, but he stayed where he was told and began to wait for the kit to come back out, even though she wouldn't . . . . . .

As Sunkit crept out of the long grass into the huge forest, she breathed a deep breath, taking in all the scents of the forest. She had never been out of camp before, and now that she was out she didn't know where to start. She tried to find Acornkit's scent, but it was lost in all the other prey scents.

_Maybe they found him, and I did this for nothing,_ she thought, but immediately she knew that he was still out here. At least one of the patrols would've returned if they had found him, and no one did.

Sunkit trekked deeper into the forest, clueless on where to go. After searching for what seemed like forever, Sunkit sighed and began to head back, but then . . .

"Help!!" came a frightened mew from the opposite direction. Sunkit quickly turned her head. _Acornkit!_ She thought desperately and pelted toward the cry for help. It was coming from where her mother told her never to approach . . . . the Twoleg homes.

Sunkit screeched to a stop when she ended up in front of the huge Twoleg dens. At first she couldn't see anything, but she soon heard something. To her right she saw Acornkit, pressing himself against a tree, hair up on end. In front of him were two dogs, both small and yappy. But Sunkit saw that their mouths were full of teeth, and if it wasn't for the leashes tied to the house, they would fling themselves at the brown kit in an instant. Luckily, their leashes wouldn't allow them to move any further, but with a gasp of horror, Sunkit realized the leashes were slipping . . . and slipping . . . and slipping . . . until finally they were almost free.

"Acornkit, run!" Sunkit shouted from where she was standing. But Acornkit didn't budge.

"I c- c- can't move," Acornkit mewed meekly.

"You have to," Sunkit urged. "They're going to come loose any second!"

When it finally dawned on her that her brother was too paralyzed from shock to move, there was only one thing she could do.

She launched herself at one of the dogs, trying to dig into its fur, but the little dog was shaking so much that she was flung off onto the ground. Acornkit started to mew like a kit (even though he was one), but when he saw Sunkit lying down seemingly unconscious, he brought himself to take his forepaws and swipe at the dog's muzzle. The smaller dog wined softly before running back inside, but the bigger one growled. Sunkit awoke just in time to see the dog jump at Acornkit, who in turn jumped back.

"Acornkit!" Sunkit looked at her brother, who seemed much smaller than usual. Clouds overhead gathered, and although it was early in the day, it was darkening, making the event seem even more ominous.

"Acornkit, follow me!" she exclaimed again, and her brother nodded slowly. The dog was pulling as hard as he could, snarling and growling with its claws grasping for something besides air. Acornkit backed away and followed Sunkit through the forest, tail between his legs. Raindrops started pouring from the sky as they ran, which made it harder for them to tell where to go. Behind them, the dog seemed to be getting farther away, so the kits relaxed for a moment.

"Here, come under this bush," Sunkit called to Acornkit, who was staring in shock at what had just happened.

When he settled down, away from the dog and the rain, he seemed to just lie there for a moment. Sunkit pressed her muzzle against his flank, just glad to have found him safe. If she hadn't gone out, the patrols might've been too late . . . . .

But then a surge of anger and frustration hit her. It was all _his_ fault they were out in the pouring rain, away from Thrushwing and Quailfeather and the camp. Why did he ever _consider_ leaving the camp in the first place?

"What were you thinking?!" she exclaimed, her voice overpowering the rain.

"W- w- what?" Acornkit asked.

"Why did you come out in the pouring rain? Couldn't you have waited for tomorrow, when we're actually going to be _allowed_ to leave the camp? Now Ripplestar will never make us apprentices." Sunkit sunk back to the ground, the flash of anger gone, and instead it was replaced with sadness. What she said was probably true; they would have to wait _forever_ to become apprentices now. She couldn't blame Acornkit though; they were only kits. Kits were basically supposed to get in trouble.

"I-," but before Acornkit could continue, other cats hurtled into view. Sunkit sighed with relief when she recognized the cats: Ripplestar, Blackpaw, Stormhawk, and Robinsong. They started calling the kits' names, so Sunkit and Acornkit slowly walked out from beneath the bush. At first the four cats just stared in shock and surprise that they had found the kits, but then Robinsong launched herself at them.

"You're safe!" the blue-gray queen yelled and then, although they weren't her kits, began licking them furiously. "How could I be so stupid? I actually believed you."

Blackpaw shuffled his paws awkwardly, not catching any cats' eye. However, Sunkit saw how horrible he looked, and how guilty he seemed to feel. Next to him, Ripplestar gazed calmly at the kits, saying, "We will discuss everything in camp. Stormhawk, search around for the other patrols a little incase they're still out. Blackpaw, go with him."

While the two toms ran off, the two remaining she-cats picked up the kits by their scruffs and started padding back to camp. _We are in so much trouble, _Sunkit thought miserably.

By the time Sunkit and the other cats reached camp, everyone was back, waiting anxiously in their dens. Ripplestar dropped Sunkit onto the ground with a thud, as did Robinsong. Soon, the whole Clan was up and shouting questions one after another. Some cats, including Thrushwing and Deersprint, ran to the cats while asking questions. Some, like Silvermoon, were silent and looked so sad. Sunkit knew Silvermoon would blame herself.

"Enough!" Ripplestar's call rang throughout the camp. "We will discuss this in my den." She then called Sunkit, Acornkit, Thrushwing, Deersprint, Quailfeather, Stormhawk, Blackpaw, and the other queens into her den. It was very crowded, but neither she nor Acornkit complained out loud; they both knew it was not the time.

"We gathered here to discuss what has just happened," Ripplestar stated calmly, gazing around at the large group of cats. "Acornkit, please begin."

Acornkit gazed at his sister for support, who in turn nodded and rubbed against his pelt. He breathed in deeply and began. "Well, it was the morning, and there was nothing to do since everyone in the nursery was sleeping. When I was lying there, I saw some cats coming back into camp with prey in their mouths. I wanted to catch prey myself _so_ badly, so I decided I would go out and try. It was easy, actually, getting out of camp. No one noticed me walking out, not even Quailfeather."

Quailfeather sighed, shaking her head. "I can't believe I didn't ask where he was going," she mewed softly. "I thought he was just visiting his father."

Acornkit then continued, his usual confidence slowly coming back. "Okay, so I thought I smelled something like a mouse. Well, I followed the scent away from camp, and then I actually saw it! I jumped at it, but it ran away. I followed it and-,"

Stormhawk growled. "How can you be so stupid? Did you really think that you would catch _anything?_" Ripplestar swiftly turned her head at him, silencing him with her gaze. She then looked at Acornkit, nodding slowly for him to continue.

"I- I- I did think I would catch him. He was fat and slow. But then he disappeared in the undergrowth and stuff. I tried to find it . . . but then I found myself at the Twoleg dens. There were . . . two dogs there, and they cornered me. (Thrushwing let out a startled mew.) I would've . . . I mean, I wouldn't . . . I wouldn't be here if Sunkit didn't rescue me." He ended softly, unlike his usual self. Sunkit looked at him, and then she glanced at the rest of the cats. Ripplestar showed no emotion in her pale blue eyes, Blackpaw looked confused, and Stormhawk looked very frustrated and angry. Meanwhile, Deersprint also seemed angry, but he was mostly just worried, Quailfeather and Thrushwing looked horrified and worried, and the queens were sharing looks with each other, mostly of shock and worry.

Finally Ripplestar spoke again. "Thank you, Acornkit. Now Sunkit, you can share why you decided to leave the camp also and worry everyone sick."

Sunkit sighed; Ripplestar made her sound so wrong in what she did. But she decided to ignore it. She tried to sound as old and mature as she could as she began, "Okay, well, I was really worried about Acornkit, as were everyone else. But I just couldn't sit around and do nothing! So I decided to leave the camp, very reluctantly, and find my brother."

Acornkit purred beside her, but Sunkit nudged him slightly so he wouldn't do it any louder. She didn't want everyone to notice.

"Anyway, I had to find a way to leave without any of the queens noticing. Luckily, Starlight and Rainfall were out doing other things, so only Silvermoon and Robinsong were still near me."

Starlight glared at Sunkit as fiercely as she could, while Rainfall was glancing at the nursery in guilt.

"Silvermoon didn't look that good, so I told her she better go see Quailfeather. And she did."

At this Silvermoon moaned slightly. "I shouldn't have left . . ." she said almost in a whisper. Next to her, Thrushwing rubbed her pelt. After what seemed like forever, Sunkit could begin again.

"And finally, I . . . I told Robinsong I had to go make dirt. She made _him _come with me. I merely snuck away when he was waiting for me."

Before Sunkit could continue again, Ripplestar glanced at Blackpaw. "Did you not notice the sound Sunkit made when she snuck away from you?" she asked.

The embarrassed Blackpaw looked down at the ground, kneading his paws on it. "Well, I, um, well, I don't think. She was, you know, quiet . . . ." His voice lowered down to nothing, which made Sunkit almost laugh. That would show him what to expect when he was moody around her.

Sunkit once again began to speak. "Once I was in the forest, I tracked Acornkit to the Twolegplace. He was trapped by the dogs, and their leashes were loosening. I just went and got Acornkit before the dogs were loose and we ran away from them. We're sorry." Now it was her turn to feel embarrassed. Her gaze dropped to the ground modestly as no one spoke.

"Don't _ever_ do that again," Thrushwing demanded. But her eyes had a loving sparkle in them as she bent her head down and began to roughly lick her kits.

"Ripplestar?" Acornkit asked, pulling away from his mother. "Does this mean that we can't become apprentices?"

Ripplestar eyed them thoughtfully and then turned to Stormhawk. They were giving each other looks; it was as if they were having a conversation even though they weren't talking. Finally she turned to the kits again.

"This was not a smart idea, especially so close to apprenticeship. It would teach you a good lesson about listening if I made you wait. But, like I said, you guys are so close to being apprentices . . . . . No, I don't think I will make you." Stormhawk growled softly. "But for the first two weeks after becoming apprentices you two will take up the responsibility of caring for the elders, something normally _all _the apprentices share. Am I understood?"

Both she and her brother nodded, saying, "Yes, Ripplestar."

"Good, now off to the nursery and get some rest. After tonight you will no longer be kits."

All the cats were dismissed, and soon everything was back to normal, although Thrushwing spent an extra long amount of time licking her kits. By the time Thrushwing fell asleep, Sunkit felt like all her fur had fallen out. Beside her, Acornkit was sleeping peacefully, even thought that meant snoring. But for once, that didn't bother Sunkit. That didn't bother her, what Ripplestar said about the elders didn't bother her, Blackpaw didn't bother her (at the moment), _nothing_ bothered her at the moment. All she could think about was tonight . . . when she would become an apprentice!


	5. Chapter 3

Allegiances

**Okay, I know the ending is . . . well kinda stupid. So, I'm sorry about that. But still, please review!! **

Chapter 3

When Sunkit opened her eyes from her long nap, at first she didn't understand why Thrushwing was gazing proudly at her. But then it hit her. Finally, after 6 long moons, both she and Acornkit would be apprentices. Her fur tingled with excitement when she realized that it was approaching nightfall, which meant that soon the ceremony would begin. She opened her mouth to speak, but Thrushwing pulled her over and began to tenderly smooth her fur down, a sign for Sunkit to be quiet. Beside her, Acornkit was kneading the ground impatiently, turning his head to look at the StarRock every now and then.

The StarRock. The StarRock was where all ceremonies were held and all announcements were made. Ripplestar would leap onto the top with the help of smaller surrounding borders and call a Clan Meeting. Then, the cats included in the ceremony or announcement would come forward and also hop onto the rock. Sunkit had always watched from inside the nursery but now would be the first time that she would actually be out there, let alone take part in it. The hollowed out part at the bottom was also Ripplestar's den, filled with moss.

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey please meet at the StarRock." Ripplestar's announcement rang clearly throughout the camp, so soon everyone was slowly walking out from their dens. Sunkit saw two cats hop onto the rock to meet Ripplestar, but Sunkit couldn't tell who they were.

Before they walked out of the nursery, Hawkkit, Jaykit, and Swallowkit ran to meet Sunkit and Acornkit. "Are you guys going to come back and see us once you become apprentices?" Swallowkit questioned curiously.

"Of course!" Acornkit mewed. "And then we'll show you how you can beat us!" He leapt at Hawkkit playfully, pinning him down. But the brown tabby kit purred and pushed him off.

"I already know how to beat you!" Hawkkit exclaimed proudly.

Jaykit pushed him slightly. "Yeah right, you couldn't beat a leaf if it landed right on your nose."

"Sunkit, Acornkit, hurry up!" Sunkit and her brother ran clumsily to the rock at their mother's command, leaving the kits bewildered. Robinsong quieted them with a flick of her tail at the rock.

Soon, all the cats were waiting in front of the StarRock. At first, Sunkit was too shocked to move. But with an encouraging nudge from Deersprint, she raced up the rock with Acornkit. For a few minutes they sat in silence, until finally Ripplestar spoke, her voice calm.

She started, "By naming apprentices, we show that SunClan will remain strong and survive. Acornkit, from now on you will be known as Acornpaw." Sunkit saw that Acornpaw lifted his head slightly, as proud as can be. "Eagleflight, you are ready for an apprentice. You will be Acornpaw's mentor. I hope you will pass on your excellent skills to Acornpaw."

Eagleflight was a golden brown tabby tom with sharp amber eyes. Sunkit had seen him in the nursery many times; he was Silvermoon's mate. When he and Acornpaw touched noses, Sunkit realized that Eagleflight had a hint of resentment in his eyes. Was he mad at them for scaring Silvermoon so badly? He shouldn't be.

Then it was Sunkit's turn. "Until she has earned her warrior name, this kit will be known as Sunpaw." Sunpaw's whiskers quivered anxiously. "Whitemist, you were Silvermoon's mentor. I expect you to pass on all of your great wisdom and knowledge to Sunpaw just as you did for Silvermoon."

When Ripplestar finished speaking, Sunpaw gulped and looked at Whitemist, who in return was sending a warm look. She brought her nose down to Sunpaw, who also brought her nose up to Whitemist, although a little too fast. She bumped her nose into Whitemist's, which made her take a step back in surprise. Embarrassed, Sunpaw lowered her head, but Whitemist nudged her pleasantly.

"Acornpaw! Sunpaw!" the Clan exclaimed. Sunpaw sat up proudly; she really was an apprentice now. _One step closer to being a real warrior, _she thought.

When the Clan Meeting was over, everyone left the clearing and went to their dens. As much as Sunpaw wanted to explore the territory, she was so sleepy for some reason. Beside her, Acornpaw was feeling the same thing. His eyelids were drooping slightly. But she still had to ask Whitemist something.

"When will we begin training?" Sunpaw gazed up at her mentor with her big amber eyes.

Whitemist purred. "Not tonight, that's for sure," she then said. "It's too late, and you can't go on a patrol yet. How about tomorrow morning I'll show you every inch of our territory . . . even though you've already seen some of it." With a friendly nudge, she added, "Now shoo. The apprentice den is over there."

Once Whitemist was gone, Sunpaw ran to where she pointed. There was a tree stump, and all around it where tall ferns. Moss was lining the whole place. When Sunpaw approached it, she noticed that there were already four cats lying there, Acornpaw included. Next to him, Blackpaw was asleep, curled away from everyone else. Sunpaw was about to lie did on the outer edge, but then someone called to her.

"Sunpaw, over here." The cat who spoke was a skinny silver tabby, and he had blue eyes. Sunpaw slowly approached him.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"You can sleep here," the tom said, pointing with his nose to a spot close to the tree trunk. It was right next to the tom.

"Thank you." With a relieving sigh, Sunpaw dropped to the ground, bones weary. "I can't believe I'm an apprentice," she murmured to herself.

The tom purred, overhearing. "You'll get used to it. And trust me, you'll soon get tired of it." After a short pause, he added, "My name's Minnowpaw."

"Hi." Sunpaw was about to fall asleep when she spotted another cat, a long-limbed gray tabby she-cat. "Who's that?" she whispered.

"Hm?" Minnowpaw was already half-asleep. "Oh, that's Morningpaw." And with a final yawn, he was sleeping. Sunpaw purred at her new friend before yawning and also drifting to sleep . . . . .

"Hey Sunpaw, wake up." Sunpaw yawned, blinking her eyes open at the sound of Minnowpaw. When she looked up at him, he was purring loudly. "I've never seen anyone move around in their sleep so much. Come on; Whitemist is waiting for you."

After licking some of her fur flat, Sunpaw joined her mentor at the entrance of the camp. Whitemist flicked her tail to the fresh-kill pile, which was already piled high with food. "You can't travel on an empty stomach, especially since you don't know how to hunt yet."

As Sunpaw picked out a starling to eat, Stormhawk came stomping over, staring at Sunpaw. "Don't forget, I expect you and your brother to be spending some time with the elders today when you get back." Before he turned back, Sunpaw saw that he seemed to be mocking him, as if he loved that they were in trouble.

_What does he have against us?_ She thought.

Sunpaw licked her lips tastily, the smell of starling still on her lips. Soon _she_ would be able to catch these for herself, without relying on other cats. She forced herself to push all of these thoughts out of her mind as she ran to meet Whitemist. Next to her was a warrior Sunpaw hadn't seen yet. He was a small, snowy white tom with green eyes, and he looked very familiar.

"Sunpaw, this is my son, Snowfur. He's going to join us today."

When Sunpaw was ready, the three cats set off, Whitemist at the lead with Snowfur and Sunpaw following. When Whitemist stopped, they were at the edge of the forest. It front of them was a swirling river, which Sunpaw had heard of well. It was their border with MoonClan.

MoonClan, one of the four Clans of the forest, lived on the small island that the river separated from the rest of the Clans. They had the amazing ability to swim through the river confidently, with no fear of being pushed downstream. Sunpaw didn't know about the rest of the Clan, but she hated getting her paws wet, especially since her . . . expedition . . . with Acornpaw. That pouring rain was horrible. She didn't know how they did it.

"That river truly borders our territory with MoonClan, but they sometimes like to believe it's the edge of these trees. Whenever you see them over here, they better have a good explanation. Don't ever get too close to the river, though, Sunpaw, or the water might come up and pull you down. Plus, you don't want MoonClan warriors to think you're trying to steal some of their fish; they would be furious."

Luckily, there were no signs of MoonClan warriors, so Whitemist showed Sunpaw the river up close. Swimming below were many different kinds of fish. "Now Sunpaw, I just told you that you can't catch the fish in this river. But there is another use for it."

When Sunpaw looked at her curiously, she continued. "During the morning when it's cooler, some animals like to come down here and get a drink of water. It's a good time to try and catch some prey. But we don't have time for that," she added hastily. "It's just a little tip for when you need to find some prey. Let's continue."

Walking through the forest, Sunpaw got used to all the smells and scents. When she first went out here as a kit, she was unprepared for what she was about to see and hear and smell. But now she embraced it all, trying to discover every little thing in the forest. As they continued, she started to notice something. SunClan's scent was slowly beginning to fade as they continued onward, until it seemed to be change into an altogether different scent. She could barely make out SunClan's scent, as it seemed to be mixed with all other kinds of smells. Vaguely, Sunpaw thought she smelled MoonClan.

"Whitemist, where are we?" she asked. Her gaze switched from Whitemist to Snowfur, who was kneading the ground nervously, although Sunpaw didn't know why. He seemed even more nervous than when they first started out.

"Thisis where we have our Gatherings. These are the Four Great Oaks, and _these_-," she stopped and flicked her tail at a huge boulder with two smaller boulders next to it, "-are the Great Rocks. The four Clan leaders sit up on the highest one while the deputies sit on the two lower ones."

Sunpaw purred at the thought of Gatherings. She had heard the other apprentices talk about them when she was still in the nursery. At every full moon, the four Clans met there in peace to explain what had happened in their Clan since the last Gathering. It was an honor to be chosen, since the leaders could choose only a certain amount of cats to go, and Sunpaw hoped she would be going to the next one, which was only about a quarter moon away.

"Beyond this is SkyClan territory, do you know how they live?" Whitemist asked, testing her slightly.

"Uh . . . I think I remember Quailfeather saying something about them. They live on the moorland, don't they?" Whitemist purred as a sign of saying she was right and then continued onward toward the last of their territory. They walked deeper into the forest, not resting at all. Snowfur was so quiet that Sunpaw sometimes forgot he was there.

Suddenly, a terrible odor filled Sunpaw's nostrils. "What _is _that?" she asked, scrunching up her nose.

"Follow me," Whitemist mewed quietly, walking on cautiously. Sunpaw followed from plain curiosity, even though she was a little worried on what she was about to see.

The forest ended in an abrupt halt, making Sunpaw gasp. In front of her was something that made her pelt stand on end. The Thunderpath. It was black, cold, and hard, and it had a horrible stench. Her father always told her tales of it, and how dangerous it was. Monsters went on it . . . they fly by on it without stopping, hitting any cat in its path. They sometimes killed cats, but if they didn't kill they seriously injured them.

"Across this Thunderpath is CloudClan territory. See that pine forest a little way down? It's marshy and damp, and their camp is in a hollow. Those CloudClan warriors talk about it as if it's the best camp out of all four Clans. Yeah, right." Whitemist snorted and then turned to face Sunpaw. "Those are the borders. Defend them with your life."

They were about to head back when Sunpaw noticed Snowfur again. His eyes were wide with anxiousness. This time Sunpaw had to ask Whitemist about him.

"Why did you ask Snowfur to come, Whitemist?" she asked. "Is he okay?"

Whitemist planted her calm gaze on Snowfur. "Well, Stormhawk said he wasn't himself on the dawn patrol this morning, so he suggested I bring him with us. I never bothered to ask Snowfur . . . but maybe I should." She sighed, and Sunpaw realized that it must be hard to admit that something was wrong with your child. Sunpaw rubbed her flank, saying wordlessly that she would ask, and Whitemist nodded, purring.

Sunpaw approached the small tom, greeting him before she sat down next to him. He gave a small nod, although he didn't look at Sunpaw directly.

"Snowfur . . . are you okay?" she asked. When he didn't reply, she continued, "Stormhawk said you weren't yourself on the dawn patrol." She tried to make her voice said completely sympathetic, but it was hard to keep the hint of curiosity out.

Finally he spoke, although very quietly. "Well, early in the morning, before dawn patrol, I went out on a walk in the forest. I was near MoonClan territory when I heard cats talking. They were both across the river, and I couldn't make out everything they were saying, but I . . . I heard some things. I haven't been able to get what they said out of my mind, so I guess I've been a little . . . distracted I guess."

Whitemist heard him and walked over. "What did they say?"

Snowfur lowered hi gaze to the ground, kneading the ground again. "They . . . they said something about our territory, and they were talking about the coming leaf-bare that's approaching. I think . . . I think they're going to attack us!"


	6. Chapter 4

Allegiances

**No one's reviewing, but I'll post for the few who may be reading this. **

Chapter 4

Sunpaw stared in shock. MoonClan was going to . . . _attack_ SunClan?! Why would they do that? The river was always plentiful; they wouldn't need some of SunClan's birds and mice. Besides, they're not even the greatest stalkers, from what she heard at least.

"You mousebrain! Why didn't you tell this to Ripplestar?" Whitemist exclaimed at her son, unlike her usual calm, kind personality. When she saw Snowfur's face, she spoke again, her voice softer. "I'm sorry. But didn't you think that this was important?"

Snowfur continued to look at the ground. "Sorry Mama," he whispered, barely audible.

Whitemist sighed and then quickly gave Snowfur a few rough licks. "It's alright. We'll go tell Ripplestar now. Follow us, Sunpaw."

As they walked back to camp, Sunpaw's heart was beating faster than ever. She was actually taking part in something that might be important in the future! Her fur was tingling with excitement, but she couldn't help but send a soft, quiet mew of distress. What if MoonClan really will attack her Clan? She wasn't ready; Whitemist hadn't taught her any fighting moves at all, so she would be helpless in the time of battle.

When they reached the camp, Whitemist and Snowfur immediately headed for Ripplestar's den. Sunpaw was about to head toward her den to relax when she remembered her punishment. _Might as well get it over with, _she thought. _Now where's Acornpaw?_

She found her brother eating a mouse near the fresh-kill pile. When she walked over, she flicked her tail at his nose.

"What is it?" he complained.

Sunpaw sighed. "Come _on_, Acornpaw. Remember? We have to take care of the elders." Her brother didn't argue, but he did mumble under his breath. He was back to his old self again.

The elders sheltered under a fallen tree, which had ferns and moss covering the cool earth. It was leaf-fall season now, and in a half moon or so it would leaf-bare, a time of great worry for all the Clans. It always got very cold, even with their thick pelts, and most of the prey usually tried to hide. The prey was already beginning to dwindle, so Ripplestar was sending more and more hunting patrols out to get the amount of prey they needed. The elders were getting especially cranky now more than ever, saying "this is going to be one of the worst leaf-bares ever!" Sunpaw tried not to think about it, since her pelt was relatively short and she did not like being cold.

When Sunpaw and Acornpaw slowly padded across the camp to see the elders, Eagleflight suddenly came running over. "Acornpaw, Ripplestar wants us to go on the sunhigh patrol. She said we need to keep a close eye on MoonClan."

Sunpaw's eyes flashed with envy when Acornpaw purred and joined his mentor. How come he didn't have to help the elders when she did? Surely some other apprentice could go. But she sighed and reluctantly continued to make her way over to the elders. When she did make it there, she heard some arguing.

"Nightshade, how can you be so serious about that?" came a female, croaky mew.

"It's an omen, I'm sure of it," came the reply. It sounded like an old tom, his voice cracked with age.

"You're no medicine cat! If you're so sure, why don't you ask Blacksky when he wakes up from his nap?" came a third voice, not quite as old as the first two voices, but still elderly.

Sunpaw coughed loud enough for the elders to hear. They all turned their heads, some purring, one looking very annoyed. There was one cat, a midnight black tom, who was resting. Sunpaw was surprised that he could sleep with this racket going on from his denmates.

"Why, hello there youngster," the only female meowed pleasantly. She had a once-beautiful dappled gray pelt, and she had green eyes. "What are doing here, just stopping by to say hello?" She purred and licked her paw.

"Of course not, Oceanwave," came the voice of the third elder. He had light gray fur with large green eyes. He turned to face Sunpaw completely. "So, Sunpaw, you're here for your punishment?"

Sunpaw nodded. The light gray tom spoke again, his eyes closed as he purred. "Ah, I remember when I was young like you. I got in so much trouble . . . Remember, Oceanwave?"

Oceanwave nodded. "Oh, I remember, Smokecloud. And I believe it was _you _who got me in so much trouble."

As the two began to reminisce, the other tom, Nightshade, complained, "Well, are you going to get to work or not?" When Sunpaw approached him she saw that his dark gray fur was matted slightly, and he had a long scar down his cheek.

First, the elders complained of having come ticks nestled in their fur. Very reluctantly, Sunpaw ran to the medicine den (and hospital) for some mouse bile. _Mouse bile, _Sunpaw thought, screwing up her face at the thought of it. It smelled horrible, but it was the only thing that could efficiently remove ticks. She approached Quailfeather with it in her head.

"Quailfeather?" Sunpaw called to the mottled she-cat, who seemed to be sleeping, surprisingly. When she heard Sunpaw her head lifted and her eyes tried to focus. She relaxed when she saw Sunpaw standing in front of her.

"Oh, it's only you, Sunpaw. What do you need?" Quailfeather got up, flexed her claws as she gave a big yawn, and began to lick some of her fur flat.

"Mouse bile for the elders," Sunpaw said, flicking her tail at the grumpy elders.

Quailfeather nodded and then searched through her many herbs and medicines. She finally pulled out the bile and handed it to Sunpaw. "Dab some moss in it and apply it to the ticks; they'll fall off almost immediately. When you finish, wash your paws immediately . . . but don't lick them," she added hastily. "Go find a low spot at the stream and dip your paws in."

Thanking the kind medicine cat, Sunpaw picked the bile up carefully and made her way back to where the elders were. By now the last tom was awake, and he was already part of a conversation. He lifted his head, smelling the air, and then turned to where Sunpaw was. When Sunpaw saw him she gasped. His eyes were clouded and glazed over, and she realized that he wasn't looking right at Sunpaw; this must be Blacksky, the former medicine cat.

"Hello there, Sunpaw!" he exclaimed, purring. "You can start with me if you like."

Sunpaw agreed, but when she started clearing his fur of ticks, she just couldn't bring herself to look at Blacksky's face. She knew this wasn't right, and she should respect him as much as any cat, more maybe, as he used to be a medicine cat, but she was reminded of some unknown sadness, an unknown memory. She didn't even think it was _her _memory.

"Blacksky, how did you become blind?" The question was out before she could contain it. Blacksky widened his blind eyes at the question, but he soon settled back down to his normal self. Smokecloud, Oceanwave, and Nightshade looked just as shocked as Blacksky did, but they were silent. Suddenly, Smokecloud yawned.

"I believe I need a nap. Why don't you two join me?" he said, glancing at Oceanwave and Nightshade. "Let's go sleep under the trees." He meaningfully looked at Blacksky before leading the other two elders outside. Blacksky purred.

"Smokecloud . . .," he murmured thoughtfully, but then he remembered Sunpaw. "Oh Sunpaw, I knew you would ask me that question."

Before Sunpaw could ask why, Blacksky continued. "I was the medicine cat of SunClan for a long time. Even when I was a tiny kit I knew my destiny was to be a medicine cat; my paws drew me closer to StarClan than many cats of my Clan at the time, even our old leader. When I was finally six moons, there was no other possible path for me."

_What does this have to do with being blind? He's telling me his whole life story! _She thought, although she kept her mouth shut.

"When my mentor died, I felt like a part of me died, too. I was a wreck; all the Clan knew it. For a while StarClan didn't see me in my dreams, and I felt abandoned. I felt my mentor abandoned me. But then . . . I had a dream."

_So? _Sunpaw thought, even though she was starting to get interested in the story.

"It wasn't a normal dream, either. I saw . . . the other medicine cats from the other Clans. StarClan surrounded us, and they said . . . 'In the faraway future, the destiny of the Clans will be in the paws of Sun, Sky, Cloud, and Moon.' From then on, I knew that StarClan still watched over me, and I would do everything and anything to uncover what they try to tell me."

_If the Clans of the forest will be in the paws Sun, Sky, Cloud, and Moon, then does that mean they're in the paws of themselves? That's so confusing! _Sunpaw was trying to work out what StarClan meant, but all she got was a pile of confusing mess. Blacksky was purring, amused.

"Well, moons and moons passed, seasons changed, and I soon forgot about the prophecy. Well, I didn't _forget _it, exactly. I just pushed it to the back of my mind. Anyway, I was sleeping one night, moons ago, and I had a dream. A beautiful tortoiseshell she-cat came to me, and she said . . . 'It is time for the sun to come.' It meant--,"

"Sunpaw, are you done yet? Come on!" Minnowpaw's voice came from the apprentice den. He had a plump mouse at his paws. When Sunpaw looked up, she realized that the sun was beginning to set. She didn't realize she spent so much time with Blacksky! She really wanted to find out what the prophecy meant, and she also wanted to find out why in StarClan his story had to do with becoming blind, but she couldn't ignore Minnowpaw.

"Bye, Blacksky, I'll see you later," she finally mewed before joining Minnowpaw. She thought they could just eat peacefully, but soon Acornpaw came bouncing into the den, eyes gleaming. Apparently he had a story to tell.

He greeted Minnowpaw quickly before turning his head to Sunpaw. She knew he was just itching to tell her, but she also knew that for some reason Acornpaw wasn't Minnowpaw's biggest fan at the moment. When Acornpaw started to speak in whispered tones, Minnowpaw narrowed his eyes at Sunpaw before leaving them. He reached Morningpaw, pale gray fur shining, and sat down next to her, back to Sunpaw.

_He's so moody! _Sunpaw thought, glancing over at him. _Oh well, I'll talk to him later. Toms can be such annoying mouse brains! _As soon as she thought that, Blackpaw came padding over, head high, not even taking a look at the four other apprentices. It's as if they didn't exist anymore. _Speaking of an annoying mousebrain, _she added with a purr. Acornpaw looked at her curiously.

"Did you just listen to what I told you?" he asked doubtfully.

"Of course! You said . . . um, well . . . I don't remember."

Shrugging, Acornpaw started talking again, his eyes still wide with excitement. Obviously he didn't mind retelling the story, and he probably would tell it a third time, but Sunpaw decided to listen, so she pricked her ears up and held Acornpaw's gaze.

"Okay, it's about the patrol. I was with Eagleflight, Seastone, and Bluejay and we were all trying to sniff out MoonClan scents to see if they crossed the territory. Bluejay was being all scornful, saying he'd rather be at the camp with Robinsong than out looking for cats that might have been made up (which made Sunpaw gasp at the thought of Bluejay being so rude about Snowfur), and even Eagleflight was starting to agree about being at the nursery, when Seastone called us over. On our edge of the river, _our _edge, Sunpaw, there were like 3 or 4 scents of MoonClan warriors. We tried to distinguish which cats they were, but they all blended together so we couldn't." For a second Acornpaw sounded upset at himself, but it was soon gone. His eyes lit up with excitement. "We just got back, and I heard Ripplestar and the senior warriors talking about an attack! Wouldn't that be awesome, Sunpaw? I've always wanted to join in on an ambush and bring strength to our Clan!" Acornpaw continued to ramble on about battles, but Sunpaw's eyes and attention were being drawn upward, where the first stars of the night were beginning to appear. Each and every star represented a warrior ancestor that was looking over the four Clans. For some reason, Sunpaw felt that they were calling to her that night, even though she didn't know why.

"You know, Acornpaw, I'm tired. I think I'm going to fall asleep, now."

With a quizzical look, Acornpaw nodded and then joined Morningpaw, obviously ignoring Minnowpaw. Sunpaw gave a giant yawn before closing her eyes and falling asleep . . .

When Sunpaw opened her eyes, she found she was far away from camp. The Four Great Oaks stood in front of her, bearing down on her. This was not where she fell asleep . . . so this must be a dream. However, Sunpaw never had a dream like this. It all felt so real, as if she was actually there. As she struggled to understand where she was, an unfamiliar scent filled Sunpaw's lungs. It was sweet and gentle, and it made Sunpaw purr.

"Hello, Sunpaw."

Sunpaw turned around in surprise. There stood a beautiful tortoiseshell she-cat, green eyes sparkling. _The scent must be hers,_ Sunpaw thought, _but why is she in my dream?_ And then she started to think. _Was this cat the she-cat who visited Blacksky in _his_ dream? _"Wh- who are you?" she stuttered.

"I am one of your warrior ancestors," came the she-cat's reply.

Then, another cat entered the scene. It was a tom, and he had long red brown fur and a bushy red tail. He had light blue eyes that made Sunpaw speechless. "As am I," he said calmly, eyes focused on Sunpaw. They both seemed like the ages of Seastone and Eagleflight- not senior warriors, but not recently made warriors, either.

"Y- you mean you guys are from StarClan?" she murmured, taking her gaze off of the tom reluctantly.

"Yes," they both mewed at once.

The tortoiseshell then said, "I am Meadowleaf."

"You can call me Flamefeather," the tom also said.

Sunpaw continued to gaze in awe at her warrior ancestors, and soon they were talking again, although they suddenly seemed different when they spoke, as if they were reading something. "The destiny of the Clans will be in the hands of Sun, Moon, Sky, and Cloud, Sunpaw."

Sunpaw tried to speak, but all she could do was open her mouth in shock as Meadowleaf and Flamefeather walked away, bringing the scene with them. Soon Sunpaw was in complete darkness, lost.

"Hello? Meadowleaf, Flamefeather, are you there? Please help me!" she exclaimed. When no answer came, she curled up in a ball, mewing like a scared kit. This had never happened before; she felt like this was real, and she would never escape . . .

"Hey, Sunpaw, are you okay?" Sunpaw's eyes snapped open, her whole body quivering. When she saw Morningpaw, her fur lowered and she sighed deeply, visibly relaxing. She took a few moments to remember her dream. Why did _StarClan warriors _come and visit her in her dream? And why did they tell her that weird prophecy that Blacksky had already told her? It didn't have anything to do with her . . .

"Sunpaw?" Morningpaw looked at the golden she-cat curiously.

Sunpaw shook her head, trying to forget the dream. "I'm okay, Morningpaw, just a weird dream."

Morningpaw nodded slowly before yawning and curling up to fall back asleep. Sunpaw sighed and gazed up at the sky. What was StarClan trying to tell her that she didn't even already know?

_Why can't I just live like a regular SunClan cat? _Sunpaw thought.

_Every cat's destiny is different. _With Flamefeather's calm voice in her head, Sunpaw fell back asleep, actually at peace . . .


	7. Chapter 5

Allegiances

Chapter 5

As the next few days passed, Sunpaw trained with Whitemist endlessly. They practiced so many fighting moves that by the end of each day Sunpaw could hardly move. Plus, with all the extra patrols (mostly around MoonClan), Sunpaw didn't get a chance to relax until late at night. Minnowpaw was still ignoring her, and Acornpaw was always running around all day, so Sunpaw never got a chance to just relax and talk with anyone. At least the Gathering was that night, and Sunpaw was hoping that Ripplestar had realized how hard she had been working.

The only other good part was that she hadn't had time to dwell on the dream, which she had concluded was from eating too much fresh-kill.

"Sunpaw, come on," Whitemist called from the camp entrance. When Sunpaw lifted her head up in confusion, her mentor added, "Remember? Yesterday Stormhawk told you that you were joining the dawn patrol. Now let's go!"

Stifling a yawn, Sunpaw stretched and padded over to her mentor. _If I'm not training, I'm on a patrol. If I'm not on a patrol, I'm hunting for the elders. When can a cat actually get some rest? _She thought grumpily. Her mood worsened when she realized who was also on the patrol. Minnowpaw, along with Birchwind and Snowfur, was sitting there, avoiding her gaze.

After a few moments, Birchwind cleared his throat, clearly seeing the tenseness between the two apprentices. "Well, are we gonna get going or sit here like a couple of rocks?" he purred.

As the border patrol walked along the border of the river, Sunpaw noticed that Snowfur was acting weird again. Whitemist was up front, ignoring him, so that probably had something to do with it. She was about to approach him when Birchwind stopped suddenly. His ears twitched upward.

"What is it, Birchwind?" Whitemist asked, but then her eyes widened.

"It's-," but his voice was cut out by an alarming battle cry. Sunpaw turned around. There must've been 8 or 9 cats, all from MoonClan, charging at the small patrol. Next to her, Minnowpaw stood with his hackles raised, eyes narrowed. He gave a quick look at Birchwind, who nodded. The apprentice dove into the group of cats, soon followed by his mentor and Whitemist. Snowfur followed hesitantly, but soon he and all the other cats were lost in the mix of MoonClan. Sunpaw gulped, sent a silent prayer to StarClan, and leapt into the pile . . .

She could feel the cats' vicious claws and paws pounding on her back. She extended her claws and aimed her paw at a MoonClan cat. She swiped her paws out, trying to reach any part of the MoonClan cats that she could. They were putting up an excellent battle. She dodged several paw swipes as the MoonClan cats were hissing and spitting madly.

Whitemist was pawing furiously and there was blood on her claws. Then there was a yelp of pain and a cry for help. Sunpaw looked up and saw that Minnowpaw was struggling against a large MoonClan warrior. There was another yelp of pain that rung in Sunpaw's ears; she had to help. Sunpaw took one final swipe at the warrior and missed him by inches.

She leapt from the pile onto the back of the MoonClan warrior that was attacking Minnowpaw. She dug her claws deep into his back, hissing at him. The cat let out of yelp of pain and tossed furiously trying to throw Sunpaw off. She had to stay on his back; she needed to hurt him as much as possible. She forced her claws deeper into the back of the cat, the cat howled with pain. Minnowpaw took advantage of Sunpaw's attack. Minnowpaw jumped up and with full strength launched a paw at the warrior's face. Blood stained the tom's fur.

He was still tossing furiously, and Sunpaw still hanging on. Whitemist, Snowfur, and Birchwind were all swiping at the cats. Despite their fierce and protective moves, Sunpaw couldn't help but think that they were fighting in a losing battle . . .

Suddenly Sunpaw lost her grip as a cat knocked her off. It was a small she-cat with silvery-white fur and big blue eyes. When Sunpaw attempted to push the cat off, someone else yowled. Sunpaw lifted her gaze and felt nothing but relief when she saw Ashwhisker, Bluejay, Seastone, and Acornpaw charging into the fight. The silver cat above Sunpaw gasped, quickly letting go of Sunpaw. Her eyes showed fear, but then Sunpaw realized it wasn't because of the SunClan warriors. Gray clouds covered the sky, and thick raindrops started pouring down.

When the she-cat ran away, Sunpaw had a chance to realize what had happened. When the reinforcements had come, one of the MoonClan cats had yelled a retreat. Sunpaw couldn't help but think about the she-cat who had pinned her down. Why did she seem so frightened by the rain? It rains all the time; they were swimming through the river as she was thinking, so she couldn't be afraid of water.

"Sunpaw!" Sunpaw's name was called by two different cats. She purred as she saw Acornpaw pelting to her, his eyes wide with fear. Her heart also welled up when she saw Minnowpaw, limping badly over to her. He had major scratches and a big gash on his shoulder, but other than that he looked okay. When Sunpaw looked down at herself, she realized a lot of her fur had been ripped out, and her leg had a long but not deep scratch. She self-consciously started licking it as the two toms ran to her.

"You're okay!" her brother exclaimed. He started to lick some of her fur clean as he added, "I wish we got here sooner; I would've clawed the fur off of any cat that even got _near _you."

Sunpaw purred. "I'm ok, Acornpaw, don't worry about me." Then she noticed that Minnowpaw was awkwardly looking at her. "Oh, hi, Minnowpaw."

"H- hi, Sunpaw," he replied. "I'm glad you're . . . okay." He lowered his head, and Sunpaw knew why.

"I forgive you, Minnowpaw," she said. Minnowpaw's eyes brightened and she took that as a sign of happiness and relief. But there wasn't time for relief yet; she needed to know what had happened to the other cats.

When the apprentices joined the patrol that Acornpaw had been in, Sunpaw asked, "Are the others okay?"

Seastone spoke first. "Whitemist got away with some bad scratches, but nothing serious. Birchwind got a very scarred face, and his belly got some bad blows, but he's okay, for the most part. As for Snowfur . . . ." Her voice trailed off, planting her gaze on the three cats who were resting in the forest undergrowth. Ashwhisker and Bluejay lowered their heads.

Sunpaw gasped and ran to the three warriors, while Acornpaw and Minnowpaw stayed behind. When Sunpaw saw them, she knew something was wrong. Birchwind and Whitemist were licking a small white figure gently, with Whitemist whispering soothing words.

"Snowfur . . ." Sunpaw let out a small mew, making the hurt cats jump. "Is he . . . ?"

Whitemist shook her head. "No, he's not dead . . . not yet, anyway. We need to bring him to Quailfeather immediately, if there's any chance of saving him." When saw spoke, Sunpaw knew it was not of a warrior about another warrior, but of a mother about her son.

"Is everyone able to travel?" Ashwhisker asked out of the silence. When no one replied, he took it as a yes, so he stood up and started to walk into the forest. Birchwind followed, with help from Bluejay and Acornpaw, and finally the saddened Whitemist came, with Snowfur unconscious on her back, with Minnowpaw and Acornpaw next to her. This left Sunpaw and Seastone in the back.

"Seastone, will Snowfur be alright?" Sunpaw asked the beautiful gray she-cat.

Seastone sighed. "I don't know, Sunpaw. But sometimes . . . sometimes cats are supposed to die in a blaze of glory. There was one cat that died like that, back when I was an apprentice. He was amazing, and I absolutely admired him. He was leading a patrol, and then some CloudClan cats attacked us. He died under the paws of Shadowclaw, who died only a few moons later. I believe it was StarClan punishing him for killing a cat in cold blood."

Sunpaw gazed up at Seastone. She sounded so sad, yet Sunpaw thought she heard something besides sadness in her voice . . . _maybe I'll ask the elders. After all, I _still _have to take care of them. _

Yet as Sunpaw thought that, she knew she couldn't really ask them. Everything seemed so awkward in their den, especially with Blacksky, who wouldn't speak to her whenever she came in. Smokecloud and Oceanwave said he was merely tired, but Sunpaw didn't believe it . . .

"We're back," Seastone mewed with a sigh of relief. The rain had been steadily pouring on them the whole walk back, and Sunpaw was also just as relieved that she would be able to escape the rain. Most of the camp was sheltered by trees, except for a few spots where puddles formed.

When they entered into camp, Sunpaw noticed immediately that Ripplestar was outside in the rain, sitting and waiting. Stormhawk was right beside her, nudging her gently to get in her den, but she refused. Seeing the group of hurt cats, she got up and ran to them.

"What happened?" she demanded. When she saw Snowfur, she added, softer this time, "Take him to Quailfeather. You too, Birchwind." The creamy brown tom nodded and took Snowfur by the scruff and slowly made his way to the medicine den. Sunpaw heard Rainfall gasp loudly when she saw her mate, but she couldn't see the queen's reaction. Ripplestar had called the remaining cats to her den, so Sunpaw ran to catch up.

When everyone was settled down, Ripplestar asked again, "What happened?"

It was Whitemist who spoke up. "We were patrolling the MoonClan border when suddenly there was an ambush. They outnumbered us, and we thought we were going to lose."

Then Bluejay started to speak. "We were on a nearby hunting patrol when we heard the screeches over there, so we ran to see what was happening."

"When we came, MoonClan ran away with their tails between their legs," Acornpaw added with his usual pride.

Sunpaw couldn't help add, "It also started to rain when they came. I was thinking . . ." But she trailed off, embarrassed. Luckily, Ripplestar didn't question what she or anyone else said; instead she looked over at the medicine den.

"Sunpaw, Minnowpaw, Acornpaw, why don't you go see Quailfeather? I'm sure she has something for those cuts."

The apprentices sighed but nodded. Acornpaw even grumbled, "I'm not even hurt. Why couldn't I stay?"  
Quailfeather's den was a full nest. While the queens and kits were on one side, quite a few warriors were on the other side, lying down and resting. Sunpaw noticed that her mother, Thrushwing, was also in there, lapping up some poppy seeds. Snowfur was right next to her, lying unusually still, and Birchwind was trying to sit up next to Rainfall, who had brought her kits over.

"Mom?" Sunpaw asked. When Thrushwing looked up, her eyes immediately brightened.

"You're okay!" The tortoiseshell leaped at her kits and swept her tongue roughly over them, even though they weren't kits anymore. Deersprint then came in, purring. He and Thrushwing exchanged a relieved look before joining in on the licking. Acornpaw mumbled something about getting away, but his parents ignored him. They did, however, let Sunpaw see Quailfeather.

The mottled she-cat was busily running around the den when Sunpaw approached her. "Uh, Quailfeather, I was wondering if you could maybe . . ."

Quailfeather looked up. "Sunpaw! Do you need herbs? I'll be right with you, so why don't you lie next to Minnowpaw for the moment?"

After the crowd died down, Quailfeather was able to address the cats more personally. When she reached Whitemist she gave her some poppy seeds to help reduce the stress about Snowfur, and she talked to Birchwind for a while before finally reaching Minnowpaw and Sunpaw. She sent the tom apprentice away quickly, so soon it was only Sunpaw left.

Quailfeather looked like she stifled a yawn as she slowly padded on cobwebs on Sunpaw's back leg. Her eyes seemed distant, as if she fully wasn't into what she was doing. Sunpaw was sure of this when her leg was pushed on too hard. She let out a yelp of pain.

"Sorry, too much pressure" the medicine cat said, avoiding the apprentice's gaze.

Sunpaw sighed. "What's wrong, Quailfeather? You seem upset."

When Quailfeather looked into Sunpaw's eyes, her face showed so much fear and sadness that Sunpaw couldn't help but flinch slightly. "Sunpaw . . . I'm afraid that StarClan has abandoned me. They haven't shown me anything, not since . . ." but she trailed off. Sunpaw decided not to press the issue; Quailfeather seemed so distressed.

After her scratches were tended to, the golden apprentice made her way back to the apprentice den. But on her way, Ripplestar stopped her.

"How would you like to go to the Gathering tonight, Sunpaw? I heard that you fought very well today. You can tell Minnowpaw he's coming too . . . and Acornpaw." Then the gray leader nodded and left the apprentice to share the good news.

_My first Gathering! _She thought excitedly. _And I'm going to go with Acornpaw . . . and Minnowpaw. _Her mind drifted to the gray tabby, but she shook her head. She didn't have time to think about him. She was actually going to a Gathering, and an important one at that. She wondered what the MoonClan leader would say about their ambush.

"Guess what," she announced when she entered the den. All the apprentices, even Blackpaw, looked up at Sunpaw. But she only directed it to her brother and Minnowpaw. "We get to go to the Gathering tonight!"

Acornpaw and Minnowpaw both yelped and shouted in excitement, running around the apprentice den like a couple of kits. Minnowpaw was just a little older than Sunpaw, so this might be his first Gathering, too.

Leaving the two apprentices to themselves, Sunpaw tucked herself in her nest to rest up. Morningpaw sat next to her, gazing over at the warrior den. She was the oldest of the apprentices, and she was probably envisioning what it would be like over there, but Sunpaw wasn't sure.

"Morningpaw?" she asked. The gray tabby turned her head in surprise.

"What is it?" Morningpaw asked with an unusual hint of irritation in her voice.

Sunpaw swallowed in nervousness. "Uh, nothing. I was j- just wondering what you were staring at."

"Oh." Morningpaw lowered her head in embarrassment. "It- it's nothing, Sunpaw. You wouldn't understand, being so young and all."

"Young!?" Sunpaw even surprised herself by how loud she had mewed. "I am only a few moons younger than you, Morningpaw. You can at least treat me with respect!"

Blackpaw looked at the quarreling she-cats. He shook his head, saying, "Oh yeah, she should respect a cat that went out into the forest as a kit, nearly getting herself _killed _by puny little puppies." He narrowed his eyes before stalking out of the den into the forest, ignoring Ashwhisker's questioning look. Morningpaw sighed before getting up and joining the latest hunting patrol, ignoring even Stormhawk, her mentor.

_Why are they acting like that? _Sunpaw thought. But even they couldn't make Sunpaw forget what was happening that night. _A Gathering . . . how exciting._ And before she knew it, she was sleeping . . .

"Sunpaw," came an echoing voice. Sunpaw's eyes blinked open, realizing she was near the Four Great Oaks again. What was going on?

"Sunpaw, come closer." Sunpaw warily looked around her, trying to find out where the voice was coming from. Cautiously, with her claws unsheathed, she padded closer to the trees, all the while keeping her ears pricked. If any cat was coming . . . she would know.

"Sunpaw!" Sunpaw spun around. There stood Meadowleaf, tortoiseshell fur shining, eyes twinkling. The she-cat always looked so beautiful, so graceful. But where was Flamefeather? Sunpaw twisted her neck to see if he was coming up, but she didn't hear him or see him, or even breathe in his scent.

"Flamefeather cannot talk with us today, Sunpaw." When Sunpaw sat there in silence, Meadowleaf continued. "I suppose you want to know why we have decided to come to you, Sunpaw, and to you only. No other cat, not even Quailfeather, knows what has been happening with you and us."

"Yes, I suppose I do want to know why you've decided to talk to an inexperienced apprentice like me who's barely even been in an apprentice about a prophecy that you already told Blacksky!" Sunpaw's voice, which started in a whisper, had grown into a confused shout. Everything that was happening just didn't make sense . . . and she couldn't take it.

Meadowleaf sighed before sitting down, wrapping her tail around her paws. She signaled Sunpaw to do the same, and although she did, she sat rigid, as if she was about to leap at any time.

"Yes, I know he told you. It was around six moons ago when I came to him and spoke with him. He was confused, and I suppose that's what made him lose his eyes." When Sunpaw cocked her head in heavy confusion, Meadowleaf purred. "Oh, not literally," she said, purring. "I meant why he became blind. You see, Blacksky was a wonderful medicine cat, back when he was younger. But he was growing older, and most cats his age were already elders, so he wasn't as . . . strong . . . as he used to be. Luckily he had Quailpaw to take his place."

What was this cat telling her? That Blacksky was an old, weak, cat who couldn't take being a medicine cat? Of course he was old, and most cats don't stay as fit and strong as they used to be when they were younger. Sunpaw could understand exactly why he wanted to retire. But there _was _one part that bothered her. What did Meadowleaf mean about his blindness? Was this what Blacksky was getting to? _It probably was, _Sunpaw conceded, and all of a sudden she wished it was Blacksky, not Meadowleaf who was telling the story.

"A few moons after I visited him, I watched Blacksky change. He was no longer the young, eager, wonderful medicine cat I knew but an old, quiet, self-decaying medicine cat. And he knew it, too. When he came to share tongues with StarClan, he practically begged us to take his sight away so he could retire. Most of us refused to do it; it wouldn't have been right, but I . . . I told them that we needed to do it. We needed to do it for him, so that he could live the remainder of his life peacefully and without any troubles. No one questioned why I did, no one asked . . ." Meadowleaf stopped, and Sunpaw realized that she was crying. A StarClan cat was crying right in front of _Sunpaw, _who was sitting in more confusion. She wanted to go and comfort her, but she couldn't move. Why wasn't Flamefeather here? He would've been able to help her. Plus, Sunpaw realized that she was aching to see him herself.

"Meadowleaf . . . ?" Sunpaw asked, nosing her gently.

"I'm sorry this happened, Sunpaw. Good-bye." The tortoiseshell got up and made her way through the forest, her tail drooping.

Surprisingly, she didn't wake up immediately, but Sunpaw didn't think about it. She was thinking about Meadowleaf, and how she sounded when she spoke of Blacksky. No one in StarClan asked why she wanted to do it, but maybe it was all too obvious . . . Sunpaw's mind grasped all the things that had happened as she slowly realized what was going on . . . Meadowleaf must've died before Blacksky was born, or soon after, otherwise why wouldn't he recognize her? She was from SunClan after all, and so was Flamefeather, from the looks of their lean muscles and undergrowth-colored pelts. Yet the look on her eyes was so obvious, a kit would've seen it . . . Sunpaw had seen it herself many times between her parents. Even though it was very sad, Sunpaw couldn't help but purr. Meadowleaf, a StarClan warrior, was in love with SunClan's former medicine cat!


	8. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**Ok I'm so sorry I haven't been updating this. I'll try to do it more often; I've actually written a lot since! Ok, please R&R! :**

Chapter 6

Sunpaw purred to herself. She just couldn't believe that Meadowleaf actually _loved _Blacksky, even though he's an elder, even though he used to be a medicine cat, and medicine cats can't have mates or kits. There was a stab of sadness that Sunpaw felt for the tortoiseshell; she must've been feeling so much pain while she was telling that story. Sunpaw could tell.

"I wonder what'll happen now," she muttered to herself before landing in darkness . . . .

"Sunpaw," someone mewed softly. A paw prodded Sunpaw, who grumbled and moaned before she finally opened her eyes. When she did look up, she realized it was Quailfeather.

"Time to go," the mottled she-cat whispered.

Sunpaw's mouth opened in excitement. It was finally time to go to the Gathering! She could forget what had happened recently and just focus on having fun with her friends. A crowd of cats were already standing at the camp entrance, and Sunpaw then realized that she must've been the last to come out.

Ripplestar looked around at the group, nodded once, and then turned around to lead the cats out. Out of the corner of her eye, Sunpaw saw Blackpaw staring at her with such intensity that it made her fur stand on end. But she pushed the image out of her mind and focused on the Gathering. With a quick glance at Acornpaw, who was speedily talking to Eagleflight, she knew he was just as excited. Most of the other cats, though, were quiet and calm, as if going to the Gathering was no big deal. The two elders who had come, Nightshade and Blacksky, were casually talking to Thrushwing, while the other warriors, Deersprint, Seastone, and Ashwhisker, were all talking with Quailfeather, surrounding her like a bubble. Stormhawk and Ripplestar continued forward without stopping. Sunpaw purred at her Clan, and how funny they were.

Suddenly, their leader stopped. She glanced back at her Clan, saying, "When we go in there, no one is to speak of the battle unless you are asked about it. And when you answer, only tell them that we are no weaker than we were before." When everyone nodded their heads, mewing things in agreement, Ripplestar said, "Then let's go."

Dashing through the rest of the forest, Ripplestar led Sunpaw and the others to the Four Great Oaks. When they reached it, scents of two Clans filled her nostrils. She thought she smelled SkyClan and . . . MoonClan. Her eyes narrowed as she prepared to spring, but Thrushwing quickly put the tip of her tail on Sunpaw's shoulder.

"There is a truce at every Gathering," her mother told her softly. "StarClan will get angry if cats fight or even argue here and send clouds to block the moon. That means they want the Gathering to be over." Then she bounced off to join some other warriors from separate Clans.

Then Sunpaw realized that she was the last cat not in the large group. Embarrassed, she hurried into there, anxiousness and nervousness surrounding her thoughts. All the cats around her were so big and intimidating, talking so loudly. Sunpaw was about to go settle in spot near the trees when someone mewed, "Hey."

Sunpaw whirled around, and immediately her claws unsheathed. It was the silver cat that had pounced on her during the battle! She expected the she-cat to be full of hostility, but surprisingly she looked sweet and kind. Sunpaw still had to be wary, though. Truce or no truce, she had heard stories of battles that had broken out during Gatherings. Now she realized how bad that was.

"What do you want?" she asked.

The silvery she-cat replied, "Just saying hi. There _is_ a truce here; I can be nice if I want."

Sunpaw cocked her head. "But you just battled us. Shouldn't you be angry at us or something?"

The she-cat shrugged. "I don't have to be . . . Anyway, my name is Moonpaw."

"I'm Sunpaw," Sunpaw mewed nervously.

Moonpaw nodded. "You want me to show you some other apprentices? They're over there." Cautiously, Sunpaw agreed, so the silvery-white apprentice took her over to a spot near the Great Rocks. There, four small cats sat, talking. Two of them purred Moonpaw a greeting.

"Guys, this is Sunpaw; she's a SunClan apprentice."

A small brown she-cat with eyes the color of lily pads said softly, "Hi, Sunpaw, I'm Lilypaw."

Another cat, this time a large brown tabby with amber eyes, said gruffly, "I'm Rockpaw."

Moonpaw purred, whispering, "He's just upset that he lost to SunClan cats," but then adding quickly, "no offense."

Next to the two MoonClan apprentices was Minnowpaw, who purred a greeting to her. Sunpaw looked over and then saw the last apprentice, a lean, dark brown tabby tom with green eyes. He narrowed them slightly.

"My name is Moorpaw," he said, narrowing his eyes even more.

Moonpaw sighed. "Moorpaw is a SkyClan apprentice, and a grumpy one at that, just like all the SkyClan cats!"

Moorpaw sprung up. "Hey!"

Sunpaw was about to say something when a large crowd of cats came rushing into the area. Two cats jumped up to the Great Rocks, joining the other leaders and deputies. _That must be CloudClan, _Sunpaw thought, and then scowled. She'd heard tons of stories about CloudClan, about how cold-hearted they could be, and how quiet and self-contained they were.

"Minnowpaw, Sunpaw, the Gathering's about to start. Come on." Thrushwing called the two apprentices over, who said good-bye to their new friends and joined their own Clan. They each sat next to Acornpaw, who was already sitting there, waiting.

After waiting for the cats to quiet down, the four leaders all yowled in unison. Sunpaw shut her mouth so the leaders could speak.

First, a slender, milky-brown she-cat with amber eyes stepped forward. She quickly glanced down at a white she-cat with gray stripes, who stood on one of the deputy rocks before speaking.

"We have some bad news," the brown she-cat started. "Unfortunately, our old deputy Rabbitbreeze died one quarter moon ago from a bout of greencough. However, Windyfur has replaced him, and she has already been doing a great job." She let the cats out in the crowd call Windyfur's name before beginning again. "We also have a new apprentice, Skypaw. Unfortunately, he couldn't make it to this Gathering, but he will next time."

Ripplestar went up next. "Congratulations, Willowstar," she said before continuing. "We also have new apprentices, Sunpaw and Acornpaw, and they are both here tonight."

Sunpaw felt every cat's gaze on her as she lowered her head to the ground. But next to her, Acornpaw raised his gaze proudly, staring at every one of the cats with a slight purr. Ripplestar couldn't help but look proud, too. But then, her gaze hardened. She stared at one of the cats on the rock before continuing.

"However, their lives were endangered because _you, _Stonestar, led an ambush into our territory. We drove you guys out, but it wasn't soon enough. One of our cats is on the verge of _dying_ because of MoonClan."

Gasps arose out of the crowd, even some from MoonClan. She saw that Moonpaw and Lilypaw both looked guilty, and so did a blue-gray she-cat from MoonClan. However, Stonestar didn't react. He merely glanced around at the four Clans with his stony face.

_Maybe that's how he got his name, _Sunpaw thought with a purr, almost missing what he said next.

"That attack was to show your cats that if MoonClan wants something, we get it, no questions asked," Stonestar shouted, flexing his muscles underneath his gray tabby fur. His piercing blue eyes stared at Ripplestar, and normally that look would silence any cat, but Ripplestar wasn't fazed.

"Oh yes? Even if it means dishonoring your Clan, even if it means angering StarClan?!" Ripplestar paused to catch her breath. She swept her gaze over one of the deputies. It was a pale gray tabby she-cat with rippling darker gray stripes and surprisingly calm green eyes. "Leafripple, I suppose I should save my breath since you are this cat's deputy, but how could you even _think _of doing this?"

Sunpaw, along with many others, gasped at what the SunClan leader was saying. She was a leader; she should know that deputies and all of the cats in a Clan _must _listen to the leader, being a part of the warrior code. What was Ripplestar saying?

"Ripplestar, stop talking to my deputy," Stonestar said calmly. "Or else that battle will be the least of your worries."

"Are you _threatening _me?!" she exclaimed, in as much shock as everyone else.

It looked like it was about to get ugly, and Sunpaw braced herself for an upcoming attack. But then . . .

"STOP!" Everyone turned their attention to the last of the leaders, a black tom with gray specks. The last deputy, a very dark brown tom with dark green eyes, joined in.

"Darkpine and I would like to say that StarClan is very upset at you!" the black tom shouted, looking up into the sky. And he was right. Sunpaw saw that thick, dark clouds were forming in front of the moon. The CloudClan leader shook his head. "And I thought we were hard-headed," Sunpaw heard him murmur.

Ripplestar took a deep breath before continuing. "Shadowstar is right," she said, sounding very reluctant. "We should not be fighting at a Gathering, and we, or at least _I _will stop, but we will not forget this, Stonestar. SunClan has nothing more to say."

"Neither does MoonClan," Stonestar huffed.

When Shadowstar looked at Willowstar, she gave a curt nod towards him, so he began to speak. "We have a new warrior, Deadleaf, who is here today." Deadleaf was a small tortoiseshell she-cat, who, unlike all the other CloudClan cats, seemed very humble. "We also have two new apprentices, Cloudpaw and Smoothpaw. Cloudpaw is not here, but Smoothpaw is, and she has decided to take up the work of a medicine cat."

A cat out of the crowd cleared his throat. He had a black-and-white colored pelt, and he had an unusually short tail. "Smoothpaw and I have already begun to work, and I can tell she will be an excellent medicine cat."

Shadowstar nodded his head. "Thank you, Smalltail. Other than that, we have nothing else to say."

When no one spoke, Stonestar took the opportunity to leave. He and Leafripple hopped down to the cold earth and began to lead their cats home. Moonpaw glanced back and gave a friendly flick of her tail at Sunpaw, who in turn mewed a quiet good-bye. After that, Willowstar and Windyfur led their cats away, followed by Shadowstar and Darkpine. Now only SunClan was left, and Sunpaw found the place eerily quiet.

"Let's go," Ripplestar said. She rushed to the front of her Clan before swiftly leading the cats out, not even waiting for Stormhawk, who was trying to push his way to the front.

Sunpaw stayed in one place for a moment before realizing that Thrushwing was beside her.

"What just happened?" she asked her mother.

The tortoiseshell sighed. "I don't know, Sunpaw, but I think Ripplestar just needs to be left alone for a bit. I think she's under a bit of stress, after the attack and everything. Plus, leafbare should be here in only a quarter moon." But then Thrushwing added, "Sunpaw, there's no reason why _you _should be worrying about this. You're only an apprentice; apprentices are meant to have fun, not carry the burdens of a Clan leader. Now go be with your friends." And with that, she bounded off to join Deersprint, who welcomed her with a few licks.

Sunpaw was about to listen to her mom and join Minnowpaw and Acornpaw, but suddenly her eyes landed on Blacksky, who was looking up into the sky. The black tom looked like he had something on his mind (even though he was blind), and Sunpaw knew she should try to help, even though she was nervous about doing it.

"Blacksky, are you okay?" she asked him, coming up on his left.

The blind tom jumped at the sound of her voice. "Oh, it's only you, Sunpaw . . . I'm fine."

Sunpaw sighed. "No, you're not. You haven't been fine ever since I talked with you that one time. Now it seems like you've been avoiding me, even when I pick those nasty ticks off of your back!"

Blacksky faced her. "Okay, maybe I'm not fine, but I don't have to tell you why! You wouldn't understand . . . you just wouldn't."  
Suddenly Sunpaw wished she hadn't yelled at him. The only thing she could think of was to tell him the truth . . . even about Meadowleaf. He should be able to understand; after all, he used to be a medicine cat. But then again, the reason he became blind was because he couldn't handle being a medicine cat . . . maybe she was wrong.

Nevertheless, she knew she had to tell him. "Blacksky, I- I do understand." When Blacksky stared at her in curiousness, she continued. "I've had StarClan cats . . . come to me in my dreams. Their names are Meadowleaf and . . . Flamefeather." Sunpaw had to stop and think about the red tom when she said his name. But she quickly tried to get back on track. "Anyway, I think Meadowleaf was the same cat that came to you back when you had that one dream. She- she told me the whole story about you, Blacksky, and why . . . why you became blind. I know everything, Blacksky, and believe me, I understand. And there's something else you should know . . . Meadowleaf . . . I think she loves you."

Blacksky's eyes widened in confusion. "What do you mean? A StarClan cat _loves _me?! And two StarClan cats visited you? That usually only happens to medicine cats and Clan leaders . . ."

As Blacksky pondered this, Sunpaw began to speak again. "Blacksky, I know I'm only an apprentice, but I just want to let you know that I . . . I'll be there for you, whenever you need me."

Blacksky looked at Sunpaw, blinking his now blind, blue eyes. "Thank you."

They approached camp faster than usual, due mostly to Ripplestar's fast pace. Immediately, Sunpaw rushed over to the medicine den along with Quailfeather to see how Snowfur was. But on the way, she was pounced on by Cinderkit, who was almost as big was she was.

"Cinderkit!" she exclaimed. "I haven't talked to you in such a long time!"

Cinderkit purred. "I know. I thought you forgot about me. I've been stuck in here with my mom and five other annoying kits."

Sunpaw sent out a mew of laughter. "Come on, they're not that bad . . . well, actually, I think you might be right." Still purring, she added, "How's Snowfur?"

But before he had a chance to speak, Whitemist let out a soft wail, nuzzling Stormhawk, in need of someone, and Quailfeather just looked horrible. Sunpaw gasped in shock. _What had just happened?! _


	9. Chapter 7

**Okay, you all probably hate me since I haven't updated in like months! But I hope you like it, and please read and review!**

Chapter 7

Sunpaw ran into the middle of the sad cats. She looked at Whitemist, whose eyes were glazed with sadness. "What happened?" she asked, holding back tears, even though she didn't know why. She couldn't bring herself to look at Snowfur.

Whitemist didn't answer; she only continued to stare in shock. Instead, Quailfeather spoke, her voice quivering. "Snowfur's pulse stopped."

"Is he dead?" she managed to whisper.

Luckily, Quailfeather shook her head. "No. I had given him herbs before it happened, so they helped start his heart again, but there's a limit to what herbs can do." When Sunpaw didn't answer, Quailfeather continued. "He's going to die soon, Sunpaw, and there's nothing we can do to stop it. But I've given him some juniper and poppy seeds, and I've treated all his wounds, so he isn't in any pain-."

"Any pain?! How can he not be in any pain when he's dying?!" Sunpaw exclaimed, not able to hold it back any longer. "You say you've helped him as much as you can, but how do you know? Did he _tell_ you? You could've done more, you should've done more!"

Quailfeather backed away, stung by the apprentice's harsh words. She opened her mouth, as if she was about to say something, but one look at Sunpaw made her silent. With a quick look at the surrounding cats, she turned around and left the nursery into the forest, leaving water drops on the floor in her place.

At first, Sunpaw could only stand in place, confused. And then suddenly it hit her. What had she _done_? What made her speak like that to the medicine cat? She barely even remembered doing it, as if something possessed her to say that.

_I need to see Meadowleaf, _she realized, but more importantly, _I need to see Flamefeather. _

When she walked into the apprentice den, no one was awake, and the only sound was Acornpaw's faint snoring. _I won't be bothering anyone, _she thought before curling up tight in her nest. And before long, she was in the land of her dreams . . . .

The dream formed around her when she opened her eyes. She stood at the edge of the MoonClan border, and around her were the bodies of dead cats. She couldn't make out the faces of anyone, except for one. The cat had blood-stained white fur and lifeless green eyes.

"Snowfur!" she exclaimed, pushing her muzzle into the dead cat's fur. She nosed his body, trying to make him move, but he was just a bundle of fur on the ground.

"Sunpaw . . ." Sunpaw spun around, facing Flamefeather. She immediately left Snowfur to get closer to him, but he backed off. Confused, Sunpaw stepped forward again.

"Flamefeather?" she asked the fluffy red tom. "What's wrong? What is all this?"

Flamefeather's eyes drifted to the cats. He muttered something under his breath, but she couldn't understand it, except for the words "Meadowleaf" and "why do I?" and "omen." Her mind already started to work out possible things, but they were all so scary she had to push them out of her mind.

"Sunpaw, this is what the future leads to if Sun, Moon, Sky, and Cloud don't save the Clans," he finally said, exhaustion hanging in every word.

"What about Snowfur?" Sunpaw asked, looking over at her dead Clanmate.

Flamefeather shook his head slowly. "He will be joining StarClan soon, no one can stop it. His time has come."

But Sunpaw couldn't believe that. "His time _can't _have come, Flamefeather," she mewed pitifully. "He's so young, and he has such a future in the Clan, I know it."

The red tom couldn't help but let out a purr. "You're speaking like a Clan leader, Sunpaw, but even leaders don't understand the ways of StarClan." When she didn't reply, he continued. "Go and talk to him when you wake up. I think he'll like that . . . before he joins us."

He approached Sunpaw and pressed his muzzle quickly into hers before disappearing in the mist. The golden she-cat sighed, muttering under her breath, before walking back to the dream forest, near camp . . .

When she awoke, she immediately rushed over to the medicine den. Quailfeather was back in there, and she was sleeping next to the queens, with Starlight surprisingly next to her, comforting her. Snowfur was lying at the other end, breathing in short and raspy breaths. His fur was matted, and Sunpaw could still see all the wounds. Her heart felt like it stopped when he coughed in the silence, only relaxing when he called out, "Sunpaw?"

Sunpaw padded over slowly, each paw getting harder and harder to move, as if a heavy load of sadness had been dropped on her. Hearing him speak made her want to cry to death, but she knew she couldn't. She even felt at the moment as if she wouldn't have been able to cry, even if she wanted to.

"I'm here," she mewed softly. The tom's fur began to flatten, and he let out a faint purr.

"I'm glad," he said. "I'm glad you're here before I . . ." But he didn't finish. Instead, he let out another spasm of coughs.

Sunpaw circled and sat down next to him, trying to lick some of his smaller cuts. He let out another purr before saying, "I don't know how Whitemist is going to take this." He glanced lovingly at his mother before looking up at Sunpaw. "You have to promise me that you'll make sure she'll be okay."

Stunned, Sunpaw tried to come up with an answer. "She has Stormhawk, he'll be able to-."

"No!" Snowfur's voice was surprisingly sharp. "She needs you, not . . . my father."

Gulping, Sunpaw replied, "Okay, Snowfur, I promise."

The two cats sat in silence for a few minutes, each looking out of the medicine den at the stars overhead. Sunpaw closed her eyes and took deep breaths, trying to clean her mind of all of the stress around her, and soon she thought she could see Flamefeather in front of her, gently nudging Meadowleaf to come closer. The tortoiseshell at first refused to move. But gradually, her paws carried the rest of her body over to see Sunpaw. Before they disappeared, she thought she heard Meadowleaf whisper, "Thank you."

Gasping breaths made Sunpaw snap out of her vision. Snowfur was coughing and trying to breathe at the same time, but he was getting weaker by the second. His coughs got weaker and weaker, his voice got smaller and smaller, until finally . . . they stopped.

"Oh no," Sunpaw whispered. "Snowfur, no, don't leave us. We need you. It wasn't your time to die."

She moaned softly, kneading her paws in the ground. She was about to wake up Quailfeather, but she suddenly heard someone's voice. _Have faith, Sunpaw. Just believe in me, believe in StarClan, and I will always be with you. _

And Sunpaw realized he was right. He had faith in StarClan when they were coming for him, and even though he didn't know why, he listened to them and respected them, because that's what faith is. _I need to have faith, _Sunpaw thought. _I need to believe in him. _

And with Snowfur's voice in her head, not Flamefeather's, she padded back to her own den, letting Whitemist sleep in peace for probably the last time.

***

The morning after that was very quiet and grim. No apprentices went out, and only a couple patrols left that day. Everyone was mourning for Snowfur, who everyone agreed had died too young. Whitemist had been sitting with her son all day, not even bothering to eat. Surprisingly, Ripplestar didn't do a thing about it, not even when Stormhawk asked her to. He had surprisingly been angry that day, not sad, and Sunpaw had even overheard a conversation between him and Whitemist.

During that whole day, Sunpaw felt like she was the only person not overly depressed. Sure, she had been with him during the last few minutes of his life, and she had a received a message from him, but she was still sad that the young warrior had to die so soon. Minnowpaw and Acornpaw had both tried to sit with her to comfort her, but when they realized she didn't need comforting, they both left her to herself. Morningpaw was the opposite, though. Lying in the apprentice den, all she did was cry and cry and _cry, _and sometimes Sunpaw couldn't stand it in there. Blackpaw was no help, either. Every time he came in contact with her he sent a big scowl and kept on walking, as if he couldn't bear to talk to her.

_Annoying tom, _she thought to herself before walking into the elders den. Luckily, her and Acornpaw's punishment was almost done, which meant they finally didn't have to do all the dirty work.

_When I see the day when I don't have to pick the ticks off of _every single elder,_ I will jump for joy so high that I won't ever have to do it _again. Of course she was over exaggerating, but after almost one and a half weeks of taking care of the elders, she was pretty sick of doing it.

"Not so hard," Nightshade complained when Acornpaw pulled too hard. The brown apprentice stumbled back, spitting out a tick.

"Well then stop moving!" Acornpaw snapped back. He lashed his tail angrily before going to Smokecloud, who was much less moody.

Meanwhile, Sunpaw was taking care of Oceanwave and Blacksky. Blacksky had been sleeping so she didn't want to disturb him, so instead she started to help Oceanwave. Her coat was well-groomed, and she didn't have many ticks.

"Do you think this is the last one, Oceanwave?" Sunpaw asked the gray she-cat after pulling out a big, hairy tick.

"Almost," Oceanwave replied, moving slightly. "There's one a little farther down where I can't reach." Sunpaw went back to work, searching for the last tick. It was silent, except for Acornpaw's complaints, when Oceanwave began to speak again. "This is going to be a bad leaf bare." She shivered, which made her fur fluff up.

"What makes you say that?" Smokecloud asked, searching the queen's face. What he saw was distress.

"I've been watching the leaves change and fall to the ground. It started happening so much sooner than usual, I'm afraid leaf fall is going to end sooner than usual. The last time that happened, three kits and one elder died from greencough, and our old leader lost another life. I worry that this one will be worse." And the elder said no more for the rest of the week, when the punishment was lifted . . .

"Sunpaw, Acornpaw, you know what you did was wrong, back when you were kits. I trust that you both did the work equally, and it taught you a lesson of responsibility and respect. You two are now free of your punishment." Ripplestar had said that about 4 days later in her den to the two apprentices. Acornpaw let out a huge breath of relief, while Sunpaw stayed silent. Now that she no longer had the punishment, there was no longer a reason to see Blacksky everyday. She didn't know why, but she felt a connection with him sometimes, as if they were part of the same cat . . .

Acornpaw's call snapped her out of it. "Come on, let's go tell the other apprentices to clean out the elders' den!" He leaped up and bounded over to the den, and Sunpaw saw that he was still bouncing slightly. She let out a purr of amusement.

"Sunpaw."

Sunpaw twisted her head at the sound of Ripplestar. "Yes?" she asked.

"Have you been out with Whitemist recently?"

The question made Sunpaw quiver, mostly because she knew that Ripplestar already knew the answer. No, ever since Snowfur had died, she had sat in solitude in the warriors den, not responding to any cat. Seastone and Thrushwing, the other warrior queens, haven't even been able to make her eat some food. Everyday Sunpaw had left her something, but only small pieces had been chewed off. Plus, now that Whitemist was depressed, Sunpaw had no one to train her. This worried her, mostly because, when the time came, she would be left behind when Acornpaw became a warrior. Recently, all the other mentors had taken her out. Ashwhisker and Eagleflight had taken her, Blackpaw, and Acornpaw out on hunting patrols, and Stormhawk once brought her and Morningpaw on the dusk patrol. Even Birchwind had tried to take both her and Minnowpaw to train, but he was too young to take on two apprentices. But never, all week, had Whitemist brought her out.

All she could come up with was a meek, "No."

Ripplestar shook her head. "She's been in so much pain," she muttered, almost inaudible. But then she straightened up. "But there's more to life than mourning, and she must learn that. Tomorrow morning, tell Whitemist that I order her to lead a hunting patrol. Leaf bare is right upon us, and we must get the remaining pieces of prey that are stupid enough to run around in the cold. Understood?"

Sunpaw nodded. "Understood, Ripplestar."

Ripplestar stared at the apprentice for a little before flicking her tail to the entrance. "You may go."

With the sun high in the sky, right where it shines through the canopy of leaves into the camp, Sunpaw expected the air to feel warm and fresh, like it had been recently. But when she stepped out, it was a whole different story. Harsh, cold wind stung her fur, and her whole body shivered. The ground felt different from what it had felt like just a little while ago. And when she looked up, she realized that dark gray storm clouds were beginning to form.

Finally, she gazed at the elders den, where one dappled gray cat was staring up at the sky. Oceanwave's gaze drifted down, until it finally landed on Sunpaw, who flinched. The elder stared hard at her for a little before turning around and joining the other elders.

And even when Sunpaw was tucked warmly in her den next to her friends, she still had Oceanwave's ominous sentence in her head. _This is going to be a bad leaf bare. _And Sunpaw knew that she was right.


	10. Chapter 8

**Okay, it has been a really long since I've last updated, and I'm really sorry! Thank you to all who have reviewed in the past, hope you all like it!**

Chapter 8

The next morning started out rough, and when Sunpaw woke up she knew that something was wrong. The apprentice den was eerily quiet, and at first she didn't know why. But when she looked out, what she saw shocked her. Snow lay on every part of the camp, and when Sunpaw stepped on it her whole leg got buried in snow. Shivering from head to tail, she made her way to the nursery, to check on the kits. What Oceanwave said scared her, and she was worried if anything bad had happened yet.

"Quailfeather, are you in there?" she called, not wanting to walk in yet.

Quailfeather poked her head out. "You can come in, Sunpaw, but . . . be careful."

Sunpaw made her way from the entrance into the dense bramble nursery. When she walked in, she saw Cinderkit sleeping soundly in the corner, away from his mother, who was sleeping with the other queens. Next to him, Mousekit was also sleeping, although he was moving around a lot. Lastly there was Jaykit, who was sitting up and staring at the medicine den part of the shelter. Her eyes widened when she saw Sunpaw, and she raced over.

"What's wrong?" Sunpaw questioned, worried about the other kits.

Jaykit answered, quivering, which surprised Sunpaw. Usually she was the tough one in her group of siblings. "Hawkkit, Swallowkit, and Mudkit all have whitecough, along with Robinsong. My daddy wanted to come in, but Quailfeather won't let him . . . I'm scared, Sunpaw. What if they . . . die?"

Sunpaw shook her head. "They won't die."

Jaykit looked at Sunpaw with her dark blue eyes. "Promise?"

Another promise. How many promises would Sunpaw have to make? She already promised to take care of Whitemist, but that hasn't been working. Speaking of Whitemist . . .

"I gotta go!" she exclaimed, suddenly remembering what Ripplestar told her. "I'll be back later, Jaykit." Before she left, she added, "I promise."

Whitemist, along with a few others, were sitting in the warriors den, grooming themselves. Whitemist, with her long white coat, was sitting comfortably in the back, while her eyes remained glazed. Clearing her throat, Sunpaw entered the den and approached Whitemist, who slowly looked up.

"What do you want, Sunpaw?" She sounded as if she thought she had nothing to do with the young apprentice.

"Um, Ripplestar told me that you have to take a patrol out this morning, and I have to come, since I'm _your _apprentice."

Whitemist stiffened. "I know you're my apprentice. Now go get Acornpaw, and we'll meet at the camp entrance." While Whitemist stood up to speak to some of the other warriors, Sunpaw began to look around for Acornpaw, who she finally found resting in the warmest place of camp, which didn't have as much snow.

When Sunpaw walked to her brother, she noticed that his nose was running slightly, and his eyes looked tired. "Acornpaw, Whitemist is leading us on a patrol."

Her brother nodded. "Okay." He stood up, stretched his limbs, and slowly made his way to where they were meeting. Something was wrong with him, Sunpaw knew it.

After Sunpaw had a quick chat with Thrushwing, she walked over to find Acornpaw, Whitemist, Seastone, and Deersprint waiting for her. Her father gave a friendly greeting with an affectionate lick, while Whitemist just stared at them coldly. Seastone must've seen her look too, because she gave a sympathetic glance at Sunpaw afterwards. Acornpaw seemed too tired to notice anything.

They headed towards the Four Great Oaks, where they thought a few squirrels might still be around, when Sunpaw thought she heard something. Obviously, Seastone heard it too.

Flicking her ears toward the sound, she steadily crouched and padded over to a bush. Sunpaw followed, while the other three stayed back, although their claws were out and dug deep in the snow.

Suddenly, Sunpaw made out a soft sound. No . . . four soft sounds. They sounded like . . . kits, but why would kits be lying out there in the middle of snow in the middle of leaf bare?

Seastone gently nosed her way into the bush, but she reared back in shock, making Sunpaw jump. "What?" she whispered urgently.

But Seastone didn't respond. Instead, someone else did. "I need your help."

Sunpaw stared at the tom, who she smelled SkyClan on. He was pretty small, and he had tortoiseshell fur with a white tail and chest and sky blue eyes. Below him were three tiny kits who were all mewing pitifully, and one was even trying to run to the strange cats.

Deersprint rushed forward, his hackles raised. "What are you doing here, SkyClan cat?"

Acornpaw moved forward cautiously, with Whitmist right on his tail. "Who do these kits belong to?" Whitemist asked right as Acornpaw gave a small sneeze. Sunpaw brushed his fur sympathetically.

The tom gulped before speaking, trying to sound confident. "My name is Skypaw, and I'm a SkyClan apprentice. Our Clan has greencough already, and one of Heathertail's kits is very sick, and so is she. Our medicine cat, Duskcloud . . . he can't handle it. He has so many sick cats, and I was afraid that if these three got sick, he would just let them die. Please- please help."

Deersprint hissed. "Let your own Clan deal with this. We have enough to worry about." Acornpaw didn't say anything, but Sunpaw could tell that he could care less at the moment.

Then Seastone spoke, calming Deersprint with her gaze. "Skypaw, does Willowstar know about what you're doing?"

Skypaw hesitated before shaking his head. "N- No, but I did tell my mentor, Lonestripe, and he said he would take care of it."

Seastone replied, "I think we should take them in. We have plenty of queens."

But Deersprint shook his head. "No, they can't do that. Robinsong is sick, Silvermoon is getting ready to have her kits any day now, and Starlight and Rainfall have to take care of the three kits that aren't sick. Besides, Quailfeather is probably just as busy, if not more, as Duskcloud. She won't have time."

Skypaw looked disheartened, but he said no more. Instead, he picked up the smallest one and scooted the other two back to their camp, where it looked like winds were blowing harshly.

"I'll look after them."

Sunpaw stared in surprise as Whitemist stepped forward, her eyes slightly less vague. When her mentor spoke, her voice sounded clear and calm, like it had been just a week ago, and Sunpaw knew that this was the right decision.

"She should do it," Sunpaw announced. When Deersprint sent her a questioned look, she whispered, "It'll be good for her, ever since Snowfur . . ."

She didn't finish, but her dad understood, so he nodded briskly. "We will do this for you, but only until the worst of greencough has left your camp." He then looked at Sunpaw and Seastone. "Each of you carry a kit to the camp; I will carry the last one."

Relief spread across Skypaw's face, and he said, "Oh, thank you so much. SkyClan will be in your debt, after helping future SkyClan warriors live. I am so grateful." Before he left, he turned to face Whitemist. "I especially thank you. I can tell you have such compassion with other cats, and I'm glad that you'll be taking care of them."

Then the tortoiseshell tom bounded off in the snow, leaving small paw prints in his place. Deersprint huffed. "Why must we take care of another Clan's problems? I'm not even sure if Willowstar will like that one of her own apprentices gave away their weakness to another Clan."

"Willowstar?!" Seastone exclaimed. "Why are you worrying about her? It's Ripplestar we have to worry about. What if she doesn't even agree to this? We're going to be stuck with three useless SkyClan kits!"

While the two warriors argued, Sunpaw walked back to Acornpaw, who was dragging behind. His tail, usually always up in excitement, was trailing along in the snow in exhaustion. His eyes, usually clear and bright, were dull and tired.

"Acornpaw, you're not okay, are you?" They kept walking, not even turning their heads to speak to each other.

"No."

When they got to the camp, Sunpaw immediately rushed her brother over to see Quailfeather. When she got there, though, she gasped. It looked like half the Clan was in there! Next to Robinsong and the three kits were Oceanwave and Nightshade, who were trying to sleep. Beside them were Ashwhisker, who was trying to communicate to Starlight across the den, and Thrushwing, who was trying to calm Quailfeather down, although it wasn't working. The medicine cat was a wreck, trying to tend to every cat at the same time. Her mouth was full of herbs, and she was trying to give them to separate cats, but it didn't look like it was working.

"Oh, Sunpaw, good, you're here. I need some help- What's wrong?"

Sunpaw nosed Acornpaw, who half-walked half-stumbled forward. "I don't feel too well," he grumbled before landing heavily next to his mother. Thrushwing slowly licked him, as if she didn't have the energy to do it harder.

Quailfeather groaned. "Great! What else can happen to make my life even more hectic?!" And just as those words left her mouth, Whitemist and the kits entered the room, with Ripplestar and Stormhawk right behind them.

***

"You're allowing this?" Quailfeather exclaimed. They had all, including Sunpaw, gone into Ripplestar's den to discuss the matter of these kits. Stormhawk and Quailfeather did not like the idea; Stormhawk said that it wasn't their duty to help another Clan like this, and Quailfeather pointed out that she was already as busy as possible, with all the sick cats. Sunpaw couldn't believe it; she thought that cats were supposed to help other cats in times of need.

At first Ripplestar didn't say anything. Instead, she nodded to Whitemist. "Why do you want to care for these kits?"  
For once, Whitemist's look softened. She looked at the nursery, where she could see the three tiny kits mewling and huddled together in fear. She spoke. "If I don't, no one else will." And that settled it.

Sunpaw purred at the thought of her mentor. Maybe this could make Whitemist feel better, feel wanted. Ever since Snowfur died, Sunpaw had been afraid that she would have to fend for herself, and maybe never become a warrior.

Leaving the den, she slowly made her way to the apprentice den. She had to lift her foot high every time or else she would get stuck underneath. The snow had become a little harder, but it wasn't packed down yet.

More snow drifted down onto the camp, landing softly on Sunpaw's nose. The cold surprised her, so she jumped up with her fur standing on end. She heard a meow of laughter.  
"Afraid of snow?" Sunpaw spun around and purred.

"Minnowpaw, don't do that. You scared me half to death." Sunpaw greeted her friend and nosed him gently. "What have you been up to?"

Minnowpaw shrugged, sending snow onto the ground. Sunpaw saw that his silver fur was fluffed up from the cold. "Nothing really. I was just out on a patrol, but we didn't catch anything. We- who are _they?" _Sunpaw realized that he had seen the kits in the nursery.

"Here, follow me and I'll explain." The golden she-cat led Minnowpaw over to the nursery, telling the whole story from the beginning. It felt as if he would argue, but surprisingly he did not. He kept his eyes trained on the nursery, looking at the three tiny kits. When they approached the entrance, Rainfall greeted them, blue eyes glimmering.

"You came here to see the new kits?" she asked. When they nodded, she pointed at the corner, where the three kits were in the middle of the other three kits. Moss was flying above them.

When Sunpaw walked over, Mousekit and Jaykit gave excited mews. They charged at her, knocking her off her feet. "We got you!" Mousekit exclaimed.

Jaykit purred and then gave a quick look at the SkyClan kits. "And that is how you defeat a SunClan cat." The three kits' eyes widened in wonder, nodding as if Jaykit's word was law. Cinderkit shook his head, purring. He whispered something in their ears before padding over to greet his friend.

"Hi Cinderkit," Sunpaw said happily. "You're so big, you're almost bigger than me!"

"Thanks. And I think Ripplestar is going to make me an apprentice soon." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "She came in here and talked to Starlight! I'm so excited I can hardly sit still!"

Sunpaw laughed at thought of her calm friend actually acting like a kit. She then turned her attention to the kits. "How are they? . . . Has Whitemist been in here yet?"

Cinderkit nodded. "She just came in here to see how they were doing before leaving to get some moss bedding. I think she's taking this very seriously. And as for the kits, they're great!" He enthusiastically bounced up, calling then over. One by one, each went over to him.

First, Cinderkit pointed to the smallest one, a very pale ginger she-cat with tons of brown specks. "That's Speckledkit. She may seem shy, but it's all a trick to get the moss!" He cuffed the she-cat's ear playfully before getting to the next one, a pure white she-cat with bright amber eyes. "This is Daisykit. I think she has a crush on me or something." The last part was in a whisper, so Daisykit didn't hear her. Finally he looked at the last cat, a bright ginger cat with brown streaks. "He's Gingerkit." Gingerkit cowered next to his sisters, eyes still gigantic.

Sunpaw purred, lowering her head to lick some of his fur flat. "Don't be afraid. I'm Sunpaw, and I won't hurt you. And don't worry about Whitemist; she is going to look after you with all her heart."

Just as she said that, Whitemist walked in with Seastone beside her, carrying moss. Seastone started to lay it down so the white queen could approach the kits. At first, they tried to hide behind Cinderkit and Minnowpaw, but with one look from Sunpaw they slowly walked towards Whitemist.

"Are you our new mama here?" Gingerkit questioned.

"What about Heathertail?" Speckledkit questioned.

Whitemist looked hurt, as if she didn't know what to say. It looked as if she was about to just give up, but Sunpaw couldn't let that happen. _StarClan, please help Whitemist. She doesn't deserve this . . . _

"Whitemist?" Sunpaw glanced down in surprise to see Daisykit speaking. "I think you will be a _wonderful _mother." Her voice was so little, yet she spoke with such enthusiasm that Sunpaw had to purr with laughter. When she looked at Whitemist, she realized that the white she-cat was purring so loud that probably the whole Clan could hear.

_Thank you, StarClan. This is exactly what she needs. _When she and Minnowpaw left, out of the corner of her eye she could see the kits gathered happily around her, and Whitemist looked so happy that nothing, not even Snowfur, would make her sad.


	11. Chapter 9

**Sorry it's been so long! Hopefully you guys haven't given up on this! Enjoy =]**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors. (if I did, Ashfur would not have died!) Pure entertainment purposes only**

Chapter 9

"Come on, just a little farther . . . Don't move . . . No!" Sunpaw exclaimed, crashing to the ground. Something black was holding her to the ground, hissing. Sunpaw sighed and angrily pushed up. "Blackpaw, what do you think you're doing? You probably scared all the prey to the Great Oaks by now!"

Blackpaw shook his pelt, sending melted snow everywhere. It had been a few days since the SkyClan kits had come, and the snow was still there, although it was beginning to melt in the sunny parts of the forest. Sunpaw had actually been stalking a vole that hadn't stayed inside, and apparently Blackpaw thought it was time for training. Sunpaw gave one quick look at the apprentice before walking over to Stormhawk. The muscular brown tabby had taken her, Blackpaw, and Morningpaw out for some hunting, and they weren't having much luck.

"Blackpaw, what _were _you thinking?" Morningpaw asked, sitting next to her mentor. She flicked a piece of snow from her whisker.

The black apprentice huffed. "I thought she was a squirrel," he muttered.

"A squirrel?!" Sunpaw exclaimed, hardly able to hold back laughter. "I must've been some pretty big squirrel then."

Stormhawk growled something about them acting as kits, but Sunpaw took no notice. Today was surprisingly not bad at all; in fact, it was almost cheery. Leaf-bare was almost never cheery, since everyone is always worried about going hungry or getting sick, but nothing terribly bad had happened. Yes, they still had a lot of sick cats, but none of them were deathly ill . . . yet.

After the rest of the morning passed, the three apprentices carried what prey they had caught to the camp. Stormhawk had told Morningpaw to take hers to the queens, and Blackpaw was to bring his _one _sparrow (which made Sunpaw laugh) to Quailfeather, so that left the remaining elders for Sunpaw: Smokecloud and Blacksky.

"Hi," she said hesitantly, seeing that the two elders were resting. They both looked up and greeted her, and Smokecloud nodded over to an empty spot. With a small hint of sadness, Sunpaw realized that it was where Oceanwave used to lay.

"So, what brings you here?" the gray tom said.

"Oh, I just brought this for you guys." Sunpaw nosed her fresh-kill towards the two toms before settling down next to them. She noticed that Blacksky seemed to be staring at her.

"Blacksky?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

Blacksky's head shook, and he blinked his blind eyes twice. "Nothing, Sunpaw. I was just thinking, that's all . . . just thinking . . ."

His eyes glazed over, leaving Sunpaw confused. Smokecloud looked sympathetically at her. "Don't worry, you know how he is. Why don't you go to your den? I'm sure you must be tired, having to work out there in the cold. That's the one good thing about being an elder: I get to stay in my nice warm nest!" Sunpaw purred and left the toms to themselves. It seemed so empty in there without Nightshade's complaining and Oceanwave's kindness. Plus, Blacksky wasn't acting like himself. He didn't seem . . . normal. _Not that he's ever really "normal," _Sunpaw thought. Oh well, she would visit later. Now it's time for a nap. She planted herself down, trying to snuggle close in the moss for warmth, and closed her eyes . . .

"Sunpaw!" Sunpaw sighed, opening her eyes after just closing them. Who was bothering her _now?_ But she held her tongue when she saw who it was.

"What is it, Cinderkit?" she asked, sitting up, stifling a yawn.

The gray kit took a deep breath before speaking. "Tonight I'm actually becoming an apprentice!" He spun around in a circle, unable to hold in his excitement. Sunpaw cheered with him, laughing. It was about time, too; ever since they were both very young, he always seemed so calm and collected, like a warrior.

But then he stopped and sent a sad glance at the nursery. "But I'm kind of worried about leaving."

Sunpaw cocked her head. "Why?"

He took a sigh. "There are still a lot of sick cats in there. And I feel like I'm abandoning all the other kits, especially the new ones. I was the oldest, and I looked after them since, you know, Quailfeather was so busy . . ."

Sunpaw looked at her friend with compassion, brushing up next to him. "You are the most mature kit I have ever seen," she mewed.

Cinderkit shook his head and purred. "I'll take that as a compliment, Sunpaw." He then ran off to spread the news to the warriors.

_Now maybe I'll be able to get some sleep, _she then thought, lowering herself down again. She breathed in the smell of the snow before closing her eyes again . . . But not until that noise stopped. She peeked her eyes open, coming face to face with Mousekit. She groaned.

"What do you _want_?" she asked the brown tom. He backed up, but he wasn't scared of her. Instead, he sent off a warm, excited feeling that was as strong as a piece of rotten fresh-kill, although in a good way.

"Silvermoon is having her kits! Isn't that exciting!? It's in the middle of leaf-bare with all this sickness, yet she's actually having kits!" He then sped away, almost colliding into Cinderkit.

_I'll have to see them later, once the excitement has died down, _she decided. _But right now, I'm taking my nap and no one can stop me . . . _And before anyone had a chance of disturbing her again, she lowered her head and finally began to dream . . .

Sunpaw's mind drifted to the CloudClan border. She opened her eyes, finding she was their, at least, in her head . . . The Thunderpath gave off the stench of burned rubber, which made her wrinkle her nose. Why was she here in the first place? It's not like they've been having any feuds with CloudClan.

Suddenly the sky turned black, and everything looked hazy. It was like she couldn't see. Wait a minute . . . there was a blackened sky, she couldn't see . . . Blacksky! _What about him? _She thought desperately.

"Be watchful of the ones dear to you . . ."

Sunpaw gulped. "Meadowleaf? What's wrong? Is something going to happen to Blacksky?" But it was too late; the scene was disappearing, and Sunpaw was left dreamless for the rest of the night . . .

As soon as she opened her eyes, she realized that something was wrong. It was dark, and it was very quiet, except for the whispers of some of the kits. Everything seemed normal, yet Sunpaw knew that it wasn't. She had to check on Blacksky and make sure he was okay.

But she stopped dead in her tracks when she made it over there. The only elder there was Smokecloud.

"Smokecloud!" she exclaimed. The gray elder abruptly woke up, blinking drowsily at her.

"What's wrong?" he asked, holding back a yawn.

"Where's Blacksky?"

Smokecloud finally began to realize she was serious. "He said he was just going out for a walk. Why, what is it?"

Sunpaw shook her head, remembering the dream. "It's just . . . I just need to talk to him." She left Smokecloud and headed to the camp entrance, only to be stopped by Whitemist. The white queen must've been on guard duty, which was weird since she was staying in the nursery.

"Where are you going?" her mentor asked. "I'm still your mentor you know; I need to know these things." Her deep gaze made Sunpaw realize that she wouldn't be able to lie, even if she wanted to. Whitemist would've known, anyway.

"I . . . I'm going out to find Blacksky. I need to make sure he's okay." Sunpaw hoped that Whitemist wouldn't press her more information, and luckily, she didn't. But her mentor didn't leave it there.

"I'm going with you; I'll go get Seastone, and I'll tell Starlight to watch over the kits." And before Sunpaw could reply, she sped off, leaving a trail of dust in her path . . .

When she returned, Sunpaw immediately led the way to the CloudClan border. Sunpaw could tell that Whitemist was staring questioningly at her, but she didn't stop. She had to hurry; she had to make sure Blacksky was okay.

And then she stopped. "Blacksky no!" It was all a blur as Sunpaw ran as fast as she could towards the Thunderpath, where the old black tom was blindly walking onto it. In the distance was the sound of a monster, coming too close too fast.

Blacksky looked back, and stared into Sunpaw's eyes. For once, his own eyes seemed alive, as if they weren't blind, as if . . . he could see. He looked up into the stars, closed his eyes, and then he was hit. He was gone.

Sunpaw wailed, trying to get to him, but Whitemist held her back. Her mentor sadly looked at her apprentice, saying, "I'm so sorry, Sunpaw. I know you two were very close." But Sunpaw could barely hear her. She could only hear the echoing words in her dream. They were supposed to have helped her; they were so she could've saved him. But it didn't happen. Now Blacksky was gone, and there was nothing she could do about it.

_I'm sorry, Meadowleaf, I'm sorry I couldn't save him. _She lifted her head, where another star shone brightly. _Blacksky, _she thought sadly. But then she thought of the pain and suffering he had gone through. _At least now you can be at peace, up there in the stars. _Her whiskers twitched as a dead leaf with a golden brown hue floated onto her nose. When Sunpaw looked around, she saw that there weren't any leaves left on any of the trees, and the snow was still covering the ground around her. It had just come out of nowhere.

"Thank you, Meadowleaf," she murmured.

"What's that you said, Sunpaw?" Whitemist called. Her white fur was fluffed up with sadness as she stared at the black elder. But suddenly, Sunpaw was ready to bring him back. She was ready to embrace the future, whatever it held. _Besides, _she added sadly to herself, _it's not like things can get any worse than this. _

Whitemist and Sunpaw slowly carried Blacksky back to camp, where the clan would all sit vigil for him. Then the elders would slowly carry him out of camp to bury him. Hopefully they'd carry him out with respect. He used to be their medicine cat, after all . . .

"Sunpaw!" Sunpaw glanced up, rearing back in surprise when she saw Acornpaw in front of her, healthy and jumping around.

"Oh, Acornpaw, you're okay!" she exclaimed. She jumped at him, almost burying him in snow. Her brother purred, but stopped suddenly when he looked over her shoulder.

"Is that . . . Blacksky?" he asked. She didn't answer at first, but her eyes started to water, and Acornpaw knew that it was true. They looked at each other, and he pushed his muzzle up to her neck and comforted her. Whitemist watched behind them, amazed at the love the two had. But she knew they had to get back to camp and show the clan what had happened.

"Er . . . Acornpaw, why are you out here so late at night? Shouldn't you be sleeping, or at least on patrol with some other cats?" she asked.

Acornpaw jumped, remembering why he had come out. "Oh yeah. Everyone was worried when you guys weren't in the camp, even though Seastone told us it was fine, so after the ceremony Ripplestar sent some cats out to find you guys. I volunteered to go, because I was feeling much better and I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Sunpaw gave him an affectionate lick. But then she stopped. "Wait, what ceremony?" she asked.

Acornpaw cocked his head. "Cinderpaw's. He's an apprentice now; his ceremony happened right after you guys left. Deersprint is his mentor."

Sunpaw purred at the thought of their dad being a mentor again, but she wasn't happy for long. She had missed Cinderpaw's ceremony, and she had been excited to be there for him! She hoped he wouldn't be mad at her too much . . .

The two apprentices then got up, and they led Whitemist, with Blacksky on her back, back to camp, where Ripplestar was waiting . . .


	12. Chapter 10

**Here's a new chapter! Sorry for the irregular updating, but I try to work on this whenever I have free time (which doesn't happen very often). Also, I'm determined to finish this story, even if no one is replying, but you know what would really make my day? A review! Pretty please?**

**Haha, okay, so now that I'm done with my begging, on with the new chapter, and I hope you all enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: As you know, Erin Hunter owns Warriors, not me**

Chapter 10

Blacksky was mourned tremendously by SunClan when they saw what had happened. Everyone, even some of the kits, had sat vigil for him for at least a little while. The elders, even though two were sick, sat vigil all night long, as did Ripplestar and Quailfeather. Sunpaw wanted to, but her exhaustion won out, and she left to get some rest. When she stepped in, she realized that an extra body was snoozing in the corner next to Morningpaw.

"Cinderpaw?" she whispered, gently nudging the tabby apprentice.

His amber eyes slowly blinked open, looking at Sunpaw. "What?" he asked grumpily when he saw who it was. He tried to curl away from her.

"Cinderpaw, I'm really sorry. I just had this feeling that Blacksky was in trouble, and I needed to find him . . ." She desperately tried to persuade him, but it wasn't working.

"You knew I was having my ceremony tonight; I told you. But you just forgot about me and decided to look for a cat who died anyway!"

Sunpaw gasped. Why was Cinderpaw acting like this? He was being so disrespectful towards Blacksky, and towards her! She wanted to be there for him, she really did, but she forgot (accidentally) because a cat's life was at stake! Well fine, if he was going to be like this to her, then so be it.

She lashed her tail in the darkness before settling down next to Minnowpaw and Acornpaw. Luckily the greencough was slowly disappearing, so she now could feel much better in her den. When she closed her eyes, she secretly hoped that Blacksky or even Meadowleaf would appear to her, just so she could feel comforted. But no dreams came . . .

"Sunpaw . . ." Sunpaw curled tighter, ignoring the soft words. "Sunpaw!" a cat yelled in her ear. Sunpaw's bright amber eyes shot open, the sun blinding. The cat in front of her purred, and Sunpaw realized it was Minnowpaw. His blue eyes were glimmering with laughter, while Sunpaw's were squinting in pain. She growled and pushed him good-naturedly.

"Minnowpaw, don't do that again. I was actually sleeping!" But she purred and flicked his nose with her tail. Stretching, she yawned and slowly turned her head, realizing something.  
"What time is it?" she asked. The rest of the apprentices were already out, and from their scent it had been a few hours.

Minnowpaw purred. "It's the middle of the day! They've been out for hours on patrols, including me. No one woke you because they thought you were stressed from . . . yesterday, so they let you sleep. But _someone_ had to wake you, or else you would've slept all day!"

Sunpaw purred and followed her friend into the clearing, where all the cats were either strolling around or just relaxing and sharing tongues. She saw that Starlight and Ashwhisker were enjoying the unusually warm day, and they both looked much better. Now that Cinderpaw was an apprentice, they would probably be joining the elders soon.

As she continued to look around at her Clanmates, she started to feel surprisingly warm inside. She realized that, although Blacksky had died, life went on, and no matter what happened in the future life would go on. One thing that helped life continue was the birthing of kits. Speaking of kits . . .

"Eagleflight!" she called to the golden brown tom. He had a rather stringy mouse in his jaws, and he was making his way to the nursery. When he saw the apprentices, he dropped the mouse and called them over.

"Good morning, Sunpaw," he said pleasantly. "It's almost too late to say that, though."

Sunpaw purred. "Hi, Eagleflight. We were just wondering if we could see the kits. Can we?" She nudged Minnowpaw slightly, who obviously wasn't as ecstatic as her, to try to at least act excited. The silver apprentice sighed and shook his head at Eagleflight, purring.

The warrior nodded. "Of course. Silvermoon is tired though, so you guys can't stay in here too long."

Eagleflight led the way to where Silvermoon was. She was lying next to Rainfall and Robinsong, who was thankfully better. The gray-blue queen had been one of the sicker cats that season, and Jaykit had been worried that she would die. Luckily she didn't, and now she and Hawkkit were allowed to sleep with their family again. Unfortunately, Mudkit and Swallowkit were still very sick, and their siblings were really worried. After Sunpaw saw Silvermoon's kits she told herself she would see the others, too.

"Oh, Silvermoon, they're beautiful!" the apprentice whispered softly, staring in wonder at the little kits. She looked at their coats, and how beautiful they were.

"Hello, Sunpaw . . . Minnowpaw," the silver queen said slowly, as if she was too tired to speak. "They're twin sisters, and their names are Cinnamonkit and Lemonkit." Cinnamonkit was the larger of the two, and she was a golden brown tabby, just like her father. Lemonkit was more like her mother, a small silver she-cat with light yellow streaks. They were so tiny; Sunpaw had never seen any cats so small. She of course had been too little to remember when the other kits had been that small.

"They really are beautiful, Silvermoon," Minnowpaw murmured, mesmerized by the little things. It was hard for them both to pull away.

"Okay, time to leave the new mother alone!" Quailfeather announced, coming up from behind. She nosed them all away, saying playfully, "Out, out. You'll have your chance one day to be here for moons! For now you have to go."

"Oh, but Quailfeather, I wanted to see the other kits. And I have to talk to Whitemist about my training." Really, that was the first time when Sunpaw remembered she had to talk to Whitemist about that, but she just said it so she could have a reason to see the kits.

Quailfeather sighed. "Fine. But you, Minnowpaw, have better things to do. You can't just follow her around like a mindless rabbit. Get Birchwind and Deersprint and some others and go look for some more herbs for me. I'm running low." And with a friendly flick of her tail, Quailfeather went back to work sorting her herbs, which were obviously fine. She just seemed to want some space. _And I wouldn't blame her, _Sunpaw added to herself.

"SUNPAW!" Six tiny figures all jumped on her at once, all trying to keep her down with tiny pounds of their paws and small, painless nips. She purred and pretended to struggle, slowly pushing off the kits.

"Hey guys, long time no see," she said. They all gathered around her happily, and Sunpaw saw that the three SkyClan cats had been adjusting well. Their scent had even begun to change a little.

Jaykit and Hawkkit were the first to back off, trying to regain their posture. "Guess what," they said simultaneously.

"What?" Sunpaw replied.

"Now that Cinderpaw's an apprentice, we're the oldest kits now!" Hawkkit exclaimed.

"Yeah, now we get to boss around everybody else!" Jaykit added.

Mousekit shoved his friend. "You will not! Not if Mudkit and I have anything to say about it." His eyes drifted to his little brother, who was trying to sleep next to Swallowkit. The two were tossing and turning; obviously they were still very sick.

"You can't boss us around!" came the squeaky voice of Speckledkit. She and Gingerkit hissed playfully, while Daisykit continued to stare up in awe at Sunpaw.

"Are you Cinderpaw's mate?" she asked finally.

Sunpaw's pelt stood on end in embarrassment as all six kits listened for her reply. She purred awkwardly, flicking her tail at the white kit's nose. "Of course not, don't be silly," she murmured. Daisykit purred.

"Good," she said. Then she joined the others, and they all got together and started whispering all kinds of things.

Filled with confusion, Sunpaw let the kits be and walked over to Whitemist, who was lying down washing herself. She cleared her throat, loud enough for her mentor to hear.

"Oh, good, Sunpaw, you're here. I'm so sorry I haven't been around. I would be, but they just don't like it when I leave." Her blue eyes trailed off in the direction of the SkyClan cats. They were filled with so much love and Sunpaw almost couldn't bear thinking about the question that just popped up in her head. _What about when we have to give them back . . .? _

Sunpaw was sent on a border patrol with Cinderpaw, Deersprint, Seastone, and Morningpaw. The gray she-cat apprentice was surprisingly cheerful today; she was also doing very well during the patrol. She was alert, watchful, and very good with scents. Sunpaw couldn't help but think about what would make her so happy.

"Morningpaw . . . are you okay?" she asked.

Morningpaw spun around from leading with Seastone. "Of- of course, Sunpaw, why do you ask?" Her paws kneaded the ground anxiously.

"Well, I don't know, it just seems like you're really . . . happy today."

Morningpaw finally sighed and approached Sunpaw. "Well, I think Ripplestar is thinking about making me a warrior. I was sent hunting alone, and Stormhawk told me I was really good! It's so exciting; I guess I just can't hold it in." Cinderpaw then walked over, obviously ignoring Sunpaw. He faced the long-legged apprentice and purred.

"Congratulations. You're one of the greatest fighters I've ever seen!" he exclaimed. Morningpaw thanked the younger gray apprentice warmly, which made his tail curl up in delight. Huffing, Sunpaw joined Deersprint and Seastone before calling out to them to hurry up.

When they reached the SkyClan border, she and Cinderpaw were sent to sniff around to make sure there weren't any other cat scents on their territory. She pushed her nose around a berry bush that was once occupied by a SkyClan apprentice not too long ago, and then, suddenly, she realized there was a fresh scent. She looked into the distance and gasped; there were two cats, running away from the border, and Sunpaw knew that they had just been in the territory.

"Deersprint, Seastone, look!" she called, pointing in the direction of the fleeing cats. Deersprint hissed, digging his claws into the forest floor.

"That SkyClan dung was hiding in our territory," he said, wanting to charge after them. But Seastone stopped him.

"We'll be just as bad as them if we chase them in their own territory. Besides, the Gathering is in two days, and we can address it then," she said, reasoning the other possibility of attacking them. Despite what would be smart, her paws ached to run after something, after being cramped up in camp because of the snow.

Deersprint agreed and then reluctantly led the patrol back to camp. Sunpaw noticed that Seastone seemed really distant, which was rather odd. She just decided to ignore her feeling and head back without an upset thought in her mind . . . well, besides her thoughts of Cinderpaw.

That day passed very quickly, and soon it was the night. Sunpaw had spent the rest of the day with Acornpaw, and they had gotten distracted with all the prey. There were still many more moons of leaf bare, but now that the snow was melting, some of the prey was curious. They came back with so much prey that Ripplestar said she would announce it to the Clan. And speaking of that . . .

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey please meet at the StarRock," she announced as the light dimmed and the moon shone brightly through a few clouds. Sunpaw spotted Acornpaw and rushed over to sit next to him. He looked at her excitedly, which meant he remembered why Ripplestar called the meeting. But then, Sunpaw noticed someone else on the StarRock . . .

"SunClan, we were just faced a horrible accident, but one thing that makes us strong is a strong bond and a strong will to help each other, and today Sunpaw and Acornpaw did that. They got so many pieces of prey, and I feel that all of you should respect them and thank them for the wonderful job they did." Ripplestar let a moments pass so Sunpaw's Clanmates could wish her and her brother congratulations. Sunpaw blushed and tilted her head down from shyness, while Acornpaw purred as loud a monster when everyone complimented him. Finally Ripplestar began to speak again. "Another way of making our Clan strong again is by making warriors. Morningpaw, please come forward."

Sunpaw looked towards the back of camp, where she and the queens had been sitting. Her jaw dropped as she finally began to realize was happening. With a small nudge from Robinsong, Morningpaw tried to hurry up where Ripplestar was waiting for her. When she got there, Stormhawk approached her and gave an encouraging lick.

"Morningpaw, you have been training as an apprentice for many moons, and Stormhawk and I agree that it was time you became a warrior." Then she looked up into the sky, where the stars shone brightly. "I, Ripplestar, leader of SunClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Morningpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Breathing out deeply, the gray tabby tried to remain calm as she replied, "I do."

"Then, by the powers of StarClan I give you your warrior name: Morningpaw, from now on you will be known as Morningdew. StarClan honors your intelligence and cleverness, and we welcome you as a full warrior of SunClan." She then bowed down, resting her muzzle on Morningdew's head. Everyone started calling her name out, which made Morningdew blush.

"In tradition, Morningdew will sit a vigil tonight until dawn, where she will guard the camp." Then Ripplestar called the meeting to a close, and Sunpaw went over to congratulate the she-cat.

"I'm sorry that I have to leave you with the toms," Morningdew said to Sunpaw, purring.

"Oh, it's okay, I can deal with them. Anyway, congratulations and good luck!" With a hop in her step, Sunpaw padded over to the apprentice den. Her spot, where the moss was flat but cold, seemed welcoming as she yawned and settled down. She attempted to fall asleep, but then Minnowpaw came in, finding his spot beside her.

"You seem tired," he said quietly.

Sunpaw sighed. "Yeah, I guess I am. I'm a little worried about the Gathering tomorrow; SkyClan will probably want those kits back. But I don't know how Whitemist will take it. You've seen her look at them; she'd be heartbroken!"

Minnowpaw scooted closer to the golden she-cat as a shiver went down her spine. "I know what you mean; Whitemist would rather die than give those kits up."

"Well, we can only hope it won't turn out like that . . ."


	13. Chapter 11

**So, here's another chapter! I have the rest of the story planned out (well mostly), so I'm trying to write it all down as fast as I can. Thank you Lightkit and Vic for your reviews, and for all the others reading this, you're all welcome to review, too! ^_^ Okay, thanks for listening to me babble, onto chapter 11! **

**Disclaimer: Erin Hunters owns the warrior world, not me (but these characters are mine) **

Chapter 11

A quail scurried across the forest floor, unaware of a golden brown she-cat silently stalking it. She was soundless, and as she dropped, ready to pounce, she knew it had no chance. But then . . .

"Mrrrrow!" She was bowled over as the quail transformed into a handsome red-brown tom. He pinned her down, quickly looking around the forest.

"Flamefeather!" Sunpaw exclaimed. "I haven't seen you in such a long time! So many things have happened!"

Flamefeather nodded. "I know," he whispered, "and we can talk about it later. But I need to warn you about something." When Sunpaw nodded, quieting, he continued, "The winds of the sky will cause the death of the mist." As soon as he had appeared, he was gone, and now she was in a different scene. Flamefeather was in front of three cats, one of them Meadowleaf. She stood near the back, not looking at him.

"Flamefeather," an orange and golden brown tortoiseshell spoke, "you must stop interfering. You don't see the other Clan ancestors interfering with their special cats!" Then her gaze swept over to Meadowleaf. "At least Meadowleaf had the decency to stop."

Sunpaw's mind swirled in confusion at what was going on. Why did they call her special, and why was it bad that they were meeting? Suddenly, the tortoiseshell looked over at her, and she stared right into her eyes. Gasping, Sunpaw backed up into darkness, where the scene was replaced by emptiness . . .

"Sunpaw!" an annoyed hiss made Sunpaw's eyes flutter open. There she saw Blackpaw, his irritated blue gaze on her.

"What?" she asked indignantly.

"You were moving around in your sleep and kicking me!" he huffed. Then he added under his breath, "Stupid mousebrain."

Sighing, Sunpaw stretched and woke up, and she realized that it was barely past dawn. Surprisingly, she saw Whitemist all alone outside, bathing in the morning light. So she decided to see if it was possible to actually train with her real mentor.

"G- good morning, Whitemist," she mewed.

Whitemist looked up suddenly. "Sunpaw, I didn't expect to see you up so early. Gingerkit, Speckledkit, and Daisykit are all still sleeping, and Rainfall agreed to watch them if they did wake up . . . But I have a feeling I know why you're here." When Sunpaw didn't respond, she added, "You're probably mad at me for stopping our training, and I don't blame you. I completely agree actually; I was thinking that today you and I would go on a border patrol with a few other cats."

Sunpaw's spirits soared as she thought about that: it would be the first time in what seemed like forever that they would actually go out training together. She needed to go tell someone . . . anyone!

"Morningdew!" she exclaimed to the new gray warrior, who was just starting to walk from the entrance. Her tail was up high, swinging with happiness.

"It's so weird to hear that," she admitted. "I thought one time last night that I was still Morningpaw! But I couldn't be more excited . . . or more nervous."

Nodding, Sunpaw exclaimed, "Guess what! Whitemist is taking me on a patrol today!"

"Congratulations," Morningdew replied, flicking her tail on Sunpaw's nose. "I hope you have fun and don't get into trouble."

As she started to walk off, Sunpaw called, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to take a nap in the warriors den," she said proudly, tail held high. Sunpaw mrrowed with laughter and hurried to get something from the fresh-kill pile before getting ready to leave with Whitemist . . .

Ripplestar had chosen Seastone, Thrushwing, and Starlight to go on a patrol with them. It was funny; she had only chosen she-cats to go on the patrol. Sunpaw kinda liked it that way; she always believed when she was little that toms were annoying mousebrains. She was surprised though that Starlight was asked to go; this was probably going to be one of her last patrols as a warrior. After all, Cinderpaw was an apprentice now, and she and Ashwhisker were both getting old.

"How's life in the apprentice den?" Seastone asked as she led the patrol toward SkyClan. Her paws barely seemed to touch the ground as she gracefully paced herself through the forest. Starlight began to complain about her paws aching, but no one paid any attention to her as they sped up.

"Pretty good," Sunpaw answered between breathes.

When they reached the part of their territory that stretched over to SkyClan's territory, a rabbit entered their view. Immediately, Whitemist got excited. Sunpaw realized that she hadn't been out a lot recently, and seeing prey must've been exciting. However, Thrushwing and Starlight tried to caution her from chasing after it.

"Whitemist, you know rabbits belong in SkyClan territory," Sunpaw's mom put in, dark tortoiseshell fur beginning to fluff up in anxiousness. Whitemist refused, though.

"Come on, Thrushwing, I know how to hunt; I can catch him. Besides, he's on our territory now."

She crouched down and slowly began to approach it. The rabbit twitched slightly, but it didn't bounce away, so the white warrior continued. Seastone finally began to tense up, and Sunpaw realized why. It heard her. The rabbit immediately got up and began to hop away, but Whitemist chased after it, running as fast as she could.

Starlight exclaimed, "Whitemist, stop!" But the she-cat didn't seem to hear. Sunpaw knew where it was heading: SkyClan territory, so she hoped that her mentor would catch it before it got there. With relief, she saw that Whitemist had caught the rabbit, and she was just barely over the territory line. All she had to do was walk back over and they would be okay . . .

"Intruders!" Sunpaw knew it was too good to be true. Just then, a patrol of SkyClan cats were running their way, teeth bared and claws unsheathed. The SunClan patrol stood still, not even wincing at the upcoming cats. Whitemist, who had jumped back to her own territory, stood proudly next to them, rabbit at her feet.

"What do you think you're doing?" a pale gray tabby tom hissed.

"Yeah, are you guys stealing our prey?" a smaller cat spat, and Sunpaw realized it was Moorpaw, from the Gathering.

Thrushwing spoke for them first. "This rabbit was on SunClan territory, and we didn't realize it had crossed onto your territory until it was too late."

Seastone then added, "Anyway, Breezepelt, you can't complain about us being intruders when a few days ago we had the strongest scents of SkyClan on our territory!"

A she-cat with solid black fur and gray paws hissed, "You can't prove that we were there! I know that Willowstar would never send us in your dark forest, where you can't even see the stars!"

As the two patrols began arguing again, Sunpaw saw that there was one other cat in the SkyClan group. With a shock, she realized it was Skypaw! With a flick of her tail, Sunpaw motioned for Skypaw to come closer. The small tortoiseshell did, although he was very cautious.

"How's your Clan?" she whispered.

"We're better, thanks," he replied. "But now that we _are _better, Willowstar wants the kits back . . ."

_I knew it would come to this, _she thought sadly to herself. Instead of saying that, she said, "Oh . . . But Skypaw, our whole Clan has grown closer to them. I don't know if we'll just give them up!"

"I know, I know, I just wish I could've thought of this sooner. I'm so stupid!"

As the two apprentices began whispering again, the she-cat, whose name was Grayfoot, hissed, "Skypaw, come this instant! I never want to see you talking with someone from an enemy Clan like that!" The four cats all turned around and began to run off, but Breezepelt looked behind him, yelling threateningly, "We'll see you at the Gathering!"

Starlight spat at the ground where the SkyClan cats had stood as Thrushwing shook her fur, hissing under her breath. Sunpaw never realized how hostile they could get at something like this. _At least Seastone seems fine, _she thought to herself, looking in admiration at the poised gray she-cat. _And Whitemist doesn't seem phased at all. _

"Sunpaw, come on." Thrushwing's voice interrupted Sunpaw's thought. "We better tell Ripplestar about this so she can be ready for the Gathering tonight."

On the way back to camp, the patrol was silent, except for the faint sound of breathing. Whitemist walked confidently, not allowing the other cats' comments get to her. Sunpaw didn't understand why Whitemist wouldn't accept that what she did was wrong, even if it was a mistake. _Was she worried that I would think that she didn't know what she was doing? _But that was crazy! Whitemist was her mentor, and she would always know more. Just because she had been in the nursery for a while and hadn't had a chance to get out a lot didn't mean that she wasn't a great warrior; she was, and Sunpaw hoped that someday she would be just as great.

"Hey, Sunpaw, you're back!" A handsome silver tom was running over to her, happiness coming from him in waves. Sunpaw purred at her friend; Minnowpaw could be so joyful and carefree sometimes, which countered his patience and his slightly short temper. "Did something happen? You just left . . ."

"Well, actually—,"

"Sunpaw!!" A small dusky brown tom collided into Sunpaw, sending her sprawling onto the ground. She huffed and hopped back up, feeling cold dirt on her.

"Acornpaw, seriously?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

"I heard Starlight talking to Ashwhisker as you guys came in. So what happened at SkyClan?" At that, Minnowpaw's eyes lit up with curiosity, and Acornpaw continued to bounce up and down. Sunpaw was about to speak when Blackpaw and Cinderpaw came walking up. Wait . . . Blackpaw _and _Cinderpaw? She didn't know they were friends! Who would want to be friends with Blackpaw? He could be such a stupid mousebrain! Although, she and Cinderpaw hadn't been on the best terms . . . maybe this was some sort of rebellion act.

"Gossiping like a bunch of she-cats?" the black tom sneered, aiming his question at Acornpaw and Minnowpaw.

Acornpaw hissed, digging his claws into the earth. "Oh yeah, look who's talking!" He probably would've launched himself at them if Minnowpaw hadn't stopped him, stepping in front of the brown tom.

"What's your problem, Blackpaw? Oh, and you two, Cinderpaw." Sunpaw stared at Minnowpaw in admiration; this was his patience coming out.

Blackpaw narrowed his eyes at the two toms, both blocking Sunpaw. From what she could make out, it looked like he was trying not to jump. If he did, Ashwhisker, his mentor, would've been extremely upset. However, Cinderpaw was just standing there. He wouldn't look at her straight in the eye, and Sunpaw's heart sank. He still hadn't forgiven her? What happened had seemed so long ago, and she couldn't believe he still held a grudge.

"Hey, hey, hey, what's going on?" Two cats padded over to the group of apprentices, and Sunpaw saw that they were Bluejay and Eagleflight.

Immediately the toms backed away from each other as the warriors continued to speak. "You can't be fighting between your own Clan when we have bigger problems!" Bluejay exclaimed sternly. "Blackpaw, Ashwhisker wanted me to tell you that he's waiting for you. You're supposed to be getting ready for a hunting patrol. It's still early in the morning, and some of the animals might be waking up now. And Cinderpaw, I'm sure Deersprint is looking for you somewhere."

Reluctantly, Blackpaw ran over to a small group of cats that was about to leave, and Cinderpaw slowly walked off to the apprentice den, not making a sound. Then Eagleflight faced his own apprentice as Bluejay was the last cat to join the patrol leaving. Acornpaw sighed, knowing the look on the golden brown tom's face.

"I'll go change the bedding for the elders," he said, not at all excited about the idea. With a huge sigh, he sulked over to the elders' den, muttering all the way there.

Sunpaw purred, said good-bye to Eagleflight, and padded to the nursery with Minnowpaw at her side. Spending time with the kits would help get her mind off of the drama going on around here. Toms. But when she walked in, it was quiet. On one side of the bramble-enclosed shelter was where the sick cats were held, although it was completely empty. And then Sunpaw's tail curled up in delight. That meant that the kits were okay! Two of the kits, Swallowkit and Mudkit, had come down with serious greencough in the very beginning of leaf-bare, and Quailfeather hadn't been expecting any miracles because they were so young and so weak, but StarClan must have been watching over them!

Her eyes darted to the back of the medicine den, and she saw a very tired mottled she-cat sleeping peacefully. _Quailfeather needs that, _she thought to herself.

Finally she looked at the nursery part of the den, and she saw ten tiny kits all resting. Minnowpaw nudged her, suggesting that she let them sleep, but she couldn't just leave! Sunpaw carefully hopped over the sleeping queens and stopped at the large group of kits. She was planning on just whispering hello and then leaving, but suddenly, two pairs of eyes popped open. Immediately their eyes lit up, and they opened their mouths, ready to squeal with joy.

"Sun--!" but she silenced them with the tip of her tail. They were Mousekit and Daisykit, and if Sunpaw hadn't stopped them, they would've woken up the rest of the Clan.

"Come outside of the nursery if you want to say hi, but stay quiet," she whispered, and surprisingly, they listened. Minnowpaw looked at her in surprise, obviously impressed by her sternness. Sunpaw looked at the ground humbly, not knowing what to say.

As soon as they left the quiet solitude of the nursery, the two kits erupted in squeals and squeaks and nonstop talking. Sunpaw nodded her head, pretending she could understand when really she had no idea because they were talking so fast. She did catch some of it, though.

"And now that Mudkit's all better, we're going to be the big strong kits because in one moon, the older kits are going to become apprentices!" Mousekit had been saying, bouncing up and down in excitement.

"Yeah, but me and my brother and sister are almost as old as you, so ha!" The little white kit fluffed up, trying to look bigger than she really was, but all it did was make her look like a huge snowball.

"Well, you can look after Lemonkit and Cinnamonkit since they're teeny tiny and we have more important things to do." Mousekit pounced on the white Daisykit, rolling around playfully.

Sunpaw _mrrowed _with laughter at the two kits. They were so light-hearted; they had no troubles in the world right now. But Sunpaw . . . she couldn't be that light-hearted, as much as she wanted to. She had to figure out that prophecy Flamefeather and Meadowleaf had told her that one night, but if her StarClan guardians couldn't see her anymore, could she really figure it out? And then, there was the trouble with SkyClan. They couldn't take the kits away; they just couldn't! With sadness, she glanced at Daisykit again, and she realized that the kit must've found her home here, even more than the others. For some reason, Gingerkit and Speckledkit hadn't been as happy here, and although it was probably because they were missing their real mother, why wasn't Daisykit as sad, then? All of this going on . . . and then the hope of just living the life of a regular apprentice trying to become a warrior!

Her body suddenly hit the floor as two bodies collided into hers, and her mind went back to the present. Above her, Minnowpaw's eyes were closed with laughter, and she could see his body vibrating with a loud purr.

"Thanks," she meowed dryly to her friend.

Minnowpaw tried to stop laughing to reply. "No problem."

"Apprentices." The word stopped the two friends immediately, and Mousekit and Daisykit scurried away, intimidated by the voice. As Sunpaw tried to get back up quickly, she glanced at who had made the voice. It was Stormhawk, of course. Sunpaw thought the brown tabby could stop a tree from growing if he wanted to.

Stormhawk stopped walking when he reached them, glaring at them as if they were thieves or something! Sunpaw shivered, actually scared by the tom. "You two are going to the Gathering tonight. Rest up." And then he walked away, going to tell more cats.

It took a while for Sunpaw to realize what he had told her. And then it hit her; she was going to go to the Gathering tonight! It was going to be really important, too; this would decide what was happening about the kits. She purred and excitedly went to tell Whitemist, and Minnowpaw went to tell Birchwind, and for now, Sunpaw got to act like a regular apprentice.


	14. Chapter 12

**Well, I don't have much to say, except I hope you enjoy this. Only two more chapters after this, and then volume 1 will be finished! Wow I can hardly believe it . . . So anyway, here you go. :]**

**Disclaimer: Me no own Warriors. Erin Hunter own Warriors. (I'm feeling young, humor me) ^^**

Chapter 12

"It's not fair," Acornpaw complained as he plopped onto his nest in the apprentice den. Sunpaw looked at him sympathetically, giving him a lick on the shoulder.

"You can't always go to the Gatherings," she said, trying to lift his spirits, although it wasn't working. "Besides, Ripplestar needs cats to watch over the Clan in case anything bad happens."

The brown tom seemed to think this over for a second, but then he grumbled, obviously not liking her reasoning. "Sure, I know you're just saying that to make me feel better. But you're not that sad for me. You have Cinderpaw and your precious Minnowpaw."

Sunpaw glared at her brother. That was his problem; he couldn't just get over something or hold it in. He had to say every little thing that was on his mind at that same exact moment.

"Acornpaw, if you know what's good for you, you'll stop talking." She scraped the ground with her claws, showing she was serious.

However, her brother merely rolled his eyes. "You're no fun anymore to tease. Have fun at the Gathering!" Sunpaw knew he didn't say that sincerely, but she decided not to say anything else. Was it true what Acornpaw had said? That she was no fun anymore? She didn't notice it . . . but maybe he was right. There were so many things going on that she hadn't been able to just have fun. That's what being an apprentice meant- to have fun. And she couldn't because of that stupid prophecy! The prophecy. Why did her thoughts always end up at that prophecy from StarClan? She should just forget about it, even if Flamefeather and Meadowleaf had told her about it specifically. After all, they hadn't come to her in a while. Had they abandoned her? No, she wouldn't accept that. They would figure out a way to come to her, she knew they would.

Hours passed, most of which were spent hunting. Sunpaw and Whitemist had been out all day, trying to collect as much food as possible. Leaf bare was almost over, but cats still weren't eating as much. It seemed like there was prey still hiding, taking their time before finally leaving their nests.

"I heard you're going to the Gathering," Whitemist said as they were walking through the forest.

Sunpaw purred. "Yeah, Stormhawk told me and Minnowpaw earlier. Are you going?"

Whitemist stiffened up at the question, stopping suddenly. After a while, she seemed to relax. "Not this time. Stormhawk . . . Stormhawk told me that 'I'm not in the best condition' to go. What's that supposed to mean? I am completely fine; if I didn't know better, I would've thought that he was telling me that I'm not really a warrior! Not really a warrior- just because I've been in the nursery for a little, just because I made a silly mistake and went into another territory. He's supposed to be my mate; he's supposed to love me!" And before Sunpaw knew it, Whitemist had collapsed onto the cold ground sobbing.

"It's okay," the golden apprentice said quietly and a little awkwardly, giving her mentor a quick lick on her head.

They sat out there for a few minutes, and it was completely silent, except for Whitemist's muffled cries and the occasional call of a bird. Finally, the white she-cat slowly got up, looking at Sunpaw with sad blue eyes. However, she tried to look strong.

"Well, let's get back to hunting before the whole Clan thinks we deserted them." She stretched her back and then sped off, with Sunpaw trying to catch up.

***

"Are we ready, SunClan?"

It was nighttime now, and the sun had been replaced by the moon, full it seemed. Sunpaw stood next to Minnowpaw and Starlight, and the old queen actually seemed excited about going. Sunpaw heard her talking to Robinsong, though. Apparently, she and Ashwhisker were planning on becoming elders soon now that Cinderpaw was an apprentice. This would probably be her last Gathering as a warrior of SunClan.

Ripplestar and Stormhawk began to head to the Four Great Oaks, and the rest of the cats had to run to catch up. As a shooting star passed overhead, Sunpaw brushed fur with Minnowpaw, who seemed to glow from the stars, yet he also glowed with embarrassment.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"It's okay," she tried to reply, but it all came out in a confusing mess of words that Sunpaw didn't even remember saying. Minnowpaw cocked his head, but she only looked at the ground, muttering things that he couldn't hear.

When Sunpaw began to notice that the trees were thinning out, her heart began to beat faster in excitement. She would get to see the other Clan cats again! Maybe Moonpaw would be here. The pretty silvery-white she-cat was the first one to talk to her, even if she belonged to the Clan they had just recently fought. Besides, this might also be a chance for her to just spend some time with Minnowpaw without Acornpaw constantly badgering them! He could be such an annoying mousebrain.

As SunClan got cl_o_ser, immediately they noticed something wrong. Even Ripplestar faltered for a second, confused about what was happening. The group of cats had silenced when Sunpaw and her Clanmates approached, but she didn't know why.

However, Ripplestar ignored it, and she sent her Clan into the giant group as she and Stormhawk got onto their positions on the rock. Sunpaw gulped and looked at Minnowpaw curiously, who only shrugged.

"Sunpaw!" came a whisper, and the golden she-cat spun around to see who it came from.

"Skypaw," Sunpaw replied, relieved. She'd been wanting to talk to him. As she quickly approached him, she noticed that the tortoiseshell tom was shaking nervously. Sunpaw tried to get closer, but he backed up, shifting his eyes in every direction.

"Skypaw," she repeated, "what's wrong? Why are none of the cats talking?"

Before he could talk, though, Seastone ran over and pulled Sunpaw away, whispering, "Now's not a good time." As the cats settled next to their own Clanmates, the leaders gave the sign that the Gathering was about to start. Ripplestar sat poised on the rock but did not move, and Willowstar sat rigidly, trying to contain her emotions it seemed. That left Stonestar and Shadowstar, and finally the gray leader stood up.

"MoonClan is thriving even in this horrible leaf bare. Our queen Firepoppy has given birth to two beautiful kits, and we have a new warrior- Lilypad." Stonestar sat proudly as everyone congratulated the brown she-cat, and Sunpaw made a mental note to congratulate her at the next chance she got.

Then Shadowstar stepped up. "We have a new apprentice, Frogpaw, but other than that, we have nothing else to say." Sunpaw looked around for the new apprentice, and then she spotted a boastful muddy-brown tom, and that had to be him.

Everyone continued to look up at the rocks, and Willowstar still didn't budge. However, they did see that her deputy Windyfur was anxiously moving about on her rock. Ripplestar hopped up, looked over the group of cats, and then spoke.

"A while ago, we lost out former medicine cat and elder, Blacksky. He was hit by a monster, and he is missed by us all. We also have a new warrior, Morningdew, and a new apprentice, Cinderpaw, and our queen Silvermoon gave birth to two kits as well. That's all."

All of the cats gasped when she spoke of Blacksky, and it seemed like everyone had known him or at least heard of him. Most of the cats then congratulated the Clan about Morningdew and Cinderpaw, but Sunpaw noticed that SkyClan stayed silent . . .

And speaking of SkyClan, Willowstar had finally gotten up. Her amber eyes glanced sharply at Ripplestar before speaking, and everyone was silent- curious to see what she was going to say.

"As most of you know," she began, "our Clan has been badly affected by the cold weather, and one of our _apprentices _made a decision without asking me for approval. He gave SunClan three of our kits to watch over for us, thinking that we couldn't handle it. Well, as you can see, we have fully healed, and our queen Heathertail would like her kits back.

"However, some of my warriors reported to me that you don't intend to give them back to us, and I would like to know _why. _They have SkyClan blood in them, their mother is a part of SkyClan, and they were born and should grow up in SkyClan!" The milky brown leader glared at Ripplestar, and Sunpaw noticed that most of SkyClan did as well.

The silver leader calmly stood there, though, not phased in the slightest. Stormhawk glanced up at her curiously, as did the rest of her Clan. Sunpaw gulped, and wondered what she would say. At first, the golden she-cat hoped that her leader would cooperate and give the kits back, only so there wouldn't be a fight, but she knew that wasn't what she really wanted. Those kits were the only things that made Whitemist happy, and if they left, what would happen to her?

"I understand your thoughts, Willowstar, but I'm afraid we can't give you the kits. They have become a part of our Clan now; they like it there, and they are not leaving," Ripplestar said, announcing it not only to Willowstar and Windyfur but also all of SkyClan. The SunClan cats yowled in agreement, united over this idea, but Sunpaw was surprised by that. Not all of her Clanmates agreed that they should keep non-SunClan cats in their camp, but when it came down to their own opinions or the union of their Clan, they ending up choosing the latter.

Willowstar and Ripplestar stared at each other for what seemed like moons, until finally the SkyClan leader looked away. "You're going to regret your decision, Ripplestar," she promised, and then with one last glance at her she hopped down and led her Clan away. This showed that the Gathering was over, so Shadowstar and Stonestar led their own Clans away, smirking at the fact that this feud between their rival Clans would weaken them.

Meanwhile, Sunpaw was desperately trying to find Skypaw; she had to see him again! But before she could, Birchwind padded up to her, giving her a small nudge to move. As the Clan walked away, she realized that SkyClan would soon return, which meant she would have to fight them . . . and Skypaw.

"Sunpaw!" As she entered the camp, Acornpaw came rushing over, asking her waves of questions about what had happened. She was so overwhelmed, though, that the only thing she could do was shake her head and go over to the apprentice den for some rest.

However, Ripplestar had hopped onto StarRock, and it looked like she was about to make an announcement. _Oh well, _Sunpaw sighed, _I'll have to take a nap some other time. _

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey please meet at the StarRock!" the leader exclaimed, even though almost everyone was already out, curious about what had happened at the Gathering. Sunpaw spotted Whitemist peering out of the nursery, while the kits all stayed inside, completely oblivious to what was happening.

Sunpaw ran over to where Minnowpaw sat, the silver tom purring quietly. She gave her friend a nudge before turning her attention to Ripplestar, who was about to speak.

"My fellow Clanmates, we have just gotten back from the Gathering, and I am beginning to fear the worst. SkyClan wants those kits back, but we are not giving them away without a fight. They are a part of SunClan now, and we will not give in!" She stopped so the rest of the Clan could yowl in agreement, and Sunpaw sighed. These cats were willing to risk their lives for the cats formerly of another Clan . . . was it worth it? But she couldn't come up with an answer because their leader began to talk again. "There will be extra patrols to make sure there aren't any intruders in our territory, and I want a guard posted at the camp entrance at all times." That seemed to be the end, and the cats quietly dispersed into their own groups. Sunpaw sighed and began to head to the nursery again, but Minnowpaw called after her.

"Hey, Sunpaw, where are you going?" he asked. "It's the end of the day; I thought maybe we could relax in our apprentice den."

"Thanks, Minnowpaw, but I need to talk to someone. I'll catch up with you later." As she left, her disheartened friend sighed and trailed slowly to the den, alone, while Sunpaw stayed completely oblivious.

The golden apprentice found herself at the entrance to the nursery, where most of the cats seemed to be asleep. Robinsong was resting with Bluejay, the blue-gray tom curled tightly around her, while Silvermoon was suckling her two tiny kits, half asleep. Sunpaw noticed that Rainfall was out, probably relaxing with Birchwind. The only queen not relaxing was Whitemist, the white she-cat tensely sitting near the corner as the kits began to doze off. Out of the corner of her eye, Sunpaw spotted Quailfeather fixing Blackpaw's paw while also silently watching the queen. _I guess I'm not the only one worrying about her, _Sunpaw thought.

"Whitemist . . ." she started, whispering slightly. The white queen glanced up in surprise, but then immediately relaxed and called her over with the flick of her tail. The apprentice hurried over, settling herself in the warm moss next to her mentor.

Whitemist replied, "Sunpaw, good to see you. I can guess why you're here. You're worried for me, aren't you?"

Although it felt weird to say that she was worried for her mentor, Sunpaw had to nod reluctantly. "What if SkyClan attacks, and they take the kits? What's going to happen to you? You just seemed so lost without Snowfur, and if these kits are gone, too . . ." There, she had said it. Or at least, she had said part of it.

Her mentor sighed, gazing lovingly at the kits. "I would risk my life for those kits. They are my life now . . ." Sunpaw tried to feel sympathetic, but that comment felt like a paw in the face, even though Whitemist probably hadn't realized it. What, was she not important anymore? She was Whitemist's apprentice way before those kits came into camp!

There wasn't much left to say, so Sunpaw turned around and headed for the apprentice den, where hopefully she would have some time to think.

Once she closed her eyes, though, she didn't have time. She stood on a hilltop, all alone, the breeze ruffling her pelt. It smelled good, like fat, healthy rabbits, and she was about to try to stalk one when a snowy white cat jumped on her, completely catching her off guard. She landed with a grunt before looking up into green eyes and realizing who it was. She purred, retracting her claws.

"Snowfur, you big lump, what are you doing? I'm supposed to be in peace during dreams, not getting attacked!" But her tail curled in excitement at seeing the white warrior. It had only been recently when he died, and she missed him, despite not really knowing him.

The StarClan cat hopped off of her, shaking his pelt to get rid of unwanted leaves. Sunpaw was surprised when she saw the full look of him; he looked so carefree, so strong, unlike his time in the Clans. She guessed that was what happened to all of the cats in StarClan; they were changed into the full potential of their looks.

However, his gaze darkened, and Sunpaw realized that he wasn't just there to chat like old friends. "Meadowleaf and Flamefeather aren't allowed to visit you anymore," he told her sadly, as if he knew who they were. Sunpaw sighed, realizing that she already knew about this.

"Why are you visiting me, then?" she wondered.

The white tom opened his mouth, about to reply, when suddenly the scene was interrupted by faint talking. Sunpaw tried to call out, but nothing came out, and soon the dream was gone. Grumbling, she opened her bleary eyes, expecting it to be Acornpaw or Minnowpaw, so she was surprised when she saw Hawkkit, panting heavily.

"Hawkkit—no Hawkkit, calm down—what's wrong?" She placed the tip of her tail on Hawkkit's pelt, but he shook it off, eyes wide. Finally, the brown tabby managed to squeak out an answer.

"SkyClan- it- it's attacking!"


	15. Chapter 13

**One more chapter after this to go ^^ Wow, I can't believe I'm almost done writing this story…But I still have a long way to go until the trilogy is done! After all, you need three books to make a trilogy…Well, now that I've stated the obvious, time for everyone to read this chapter. Oh, and I know it's the shortest of all my chapters so far, but I didn't want to cram the rest of the story into one long chapter, so you'll still have one more chapter to read. Okay, R&R, and enjoy =] **

Chapter 13

Sunpaw bolted up, blinking the sand out of her eyes. As she looked out, she realized that cats with scents of both SunClan and SkyClan were fighting. The nursery was being guarded, but Hawkkit must have sneaked out before the battle! How was she supposed to get him back to his mother safely?

"Come on, Hawkkit," she said, putting the tip of her tail on his shoulder. She could feel his shaking, but he didn't pull away as she tried to make it safely across the camp. Together they ran along the edges covered with brambles, being careful not to fight any cats. Luckily they didn't seem to notice her; if they had, she would have had to fight.

As soon as she made it to the nursery, yowls of cats heard behind her, she found it hard to focus. Robinsong was furious at her kit, but she still licked him continuously, ignoring his cries. The gray queen glanced up at Sunpaw, eyes reflecting curiosity.

"Why are you still here?" she wondered. "In case you haven't noticed, cats are fighting out there!"

Sunpaw snapped out of her thoughts and nodded quickly, eyeing the rest of the cats in the nursery before turning around. She spotted Minnowpaw battling a dark brown tabby- Moorpaw from the Gathering; Acornpaw was across the clearing, battling two warrior-sized cats at once. Taking a deep breath, she plunged in, running to her brother.

However, she was knocked to the ground as a paw hit her belly, blowing all the air out of her. As she tried to breathe in rasping breaths, she glanced up to find a solid black she-cat with gray paws, eyes filled with hatred.

_What did I ever do to her? _Sunpaw asked herself as she jumped back up, aiming blows at the she-cat's head but missing. _Being a part of SunClan- that's what, _she answered herself. She continued to fight the cat, finally landing her paw on the she-cat's back. The SkyClan cat hissed and continued to fight, but Sunpaw wasn't paying much attention. Something felt different here, like this wasn't just a normal Clan attack.

Her mind was brought back to the fight when some cat slammed into her side. She hissed, swiping her paws everywhere as she collapsed to the ground. She began to think of all the moves that Whitemist had taught her, but everything was happening too quickly! One minute she was sleeping, the next she was fighting!

"Lousy excuse for a supposed SunClan apprentice," the warrior sneered, continuing to claw at Sunpaw.

Sunpaw hissed, lunging onto the tabby's back and scraping her claws down his pelt. He screeched from pain and tried to shake her off, but she wouldn't let loose. Finally he began to run away, making her fall down. She cocked her head, confused at his decision. _Hmph, I guess he isn't as brave as he pretended to be, _she thought, already looking around the camp to see who needed help. It was full of battling cats, ruining some of the dens. She spotted Birchwind guarding the nursery and medicine den, but he seemed to be getting tired. His fur was ripped out at parts, and his ear seemed to have a knick in it. She only hoped he would last for the rest of the battle.

"Get off of me!" a muffled voice called. She spun around, looking for the voice. No sooner had she found the cat had she knocked the enemy cat off of him. His dark gray fur looked horribly messy, with a red stain above his one leg. She didn't say anything at first, and neither did he.

"Thanks," he finally murmured before running back into the battle. His amber eyes were warm again, like she had remembered.

"You're welcome, Cinderpaw," she whispered, admitting that this was the first step towards friendship again.

She was about to search for her brother, when she heard a shriek, coming from the nursery. Bolting to where the yell came from, Sunpaw was confused about what was wrong. She glanced into the nursery and saw that all the cats were safely inside of there, anxiously watching the battle. She saw Rainfall, Robinsong, Silvermoon, all of their kits, Gingerkit, Speckledkit . . . no Daisykit. Where was Daisykit?! Whitemist must have been fighting in the battle, so she didn't know about the disappearance.

_Oh StarClan, please show me where she is. _And as if a sign, she saw a flash of a small white tail in the back of the nursery, where a path led to the dirt place. She rushed back there, only to stop before the warriors could see her. It was Heathertail, the mother of the SkyClan kits, along with a tabby tom who had long wispy whiskers; Daisykit was pressed against the nursery wall, shaking.

"Come with me, my kit," Heathertail said softly, trying to brush her tail on Daisykit's shoulder. However, the white kit shook her off.

"W- why? I like Whitemist!" she squeaked, trying to sound brave when she was actually terrified. Sunpaw wanted to protect the kit, but she wasn't sure what she would do; going against two full-fledged warriors (one of them an angry mother) probably wouldn't be smart.

Heathertail sighed. "I'm your mother, Daisykit! You, Gingerkit, and Speckledkit are my sweet kits. I love you. Please come back with me."

"I- I- I don't know."

The tom hissed, showing his impatience. "Just go and get your siblings so we can leave! You are a SkyClan cat. Don't you realize this fight is about you?! Now stop being so mousebrained."

Daisykit's eyes grew larger as she realized the full scale of everything. Sunpaw ached for her; she knew what it was like, having to know things that you shouldn't have to deal with yet. A kit, knowing that they're to blame for something, would be terrified, and shocked.

Looking down, Sunpaw realized that her claws had scraped into the mud from being so upset, and she was about to rush forward and try to protect the kit, but she realized she was too late. Out of nowhere, Whitemist dashed over to the group of cats, bowling the tabby tom down. He hissed and backed up, allowing Heathertail to take charge. Whitemist quickly put herself between Daisykit and the other SkyClan cats, not moving.

"You are not taking them," she spat through gritted teeth.

"They're my kits!" Heathertail exclaimed.

"They're SunClan's kits now!" Whitemist retorted, muscles tensing in her shoulders. Sunpaw wanted to run over and help, but it didn't seem like her mentor needed it.

For a moment, they all stood in silence, the tension so thick Sunpaw could've cut it with her paw. And then the tom meowed, "I've had it with this! It's time to end this." He lunged forward to take Daisykit, who squealed. Whitemist didn't look twice before jumping in front of the kit again; she was too concerned with Daisykit, though, that she forgot to defend herself. The cat met her throat, and sliced his paw down her body. Whitemist collapsed to the ground, coughing feebly as blood gushed out of her body.

Time slowed for Sunpaw. Around her, she thought she noticed the cats running away, the one tom (_killer, _Sunpaw could only think) backing up in shock. She thought she could see kits following the retreating group. She thought she saw Daisykit beside her. But she wasn't sure. She only saw Whitemist, her mentor, slowly leaving the earth forever. Sunpaw stumbled forever, staring into searching blue eyes. They stopped at Sunpaw, Whitemist's face relaxing.

"I- I'm sorry," Whitemist tried to say, and Sunpaw had to focus completely to make them out. "I- I can't b- believe how stu- stupid I was. You were like my daughter; I l- loved you like you were k- kin. B- but I didn't realize it, until now . . Please for- forgive me. I am s-so proud of you, Sunpaw."

Then, her last breath was made, and her eyes glazed over, forever to be in the presence of StarClan . . . Sunpaw couldn't bear to take it all in, too shocked, and exhaustion overpowered her as she collapsed to the ground, passed out.

* * *

When Sunpaw awoke, she found herself lying beneath a full moon. Squinting and blinking the sand out of her eyes, she slowly stood up and arched her back in a stretch. Her mouth opened into a wide "o" as a yawn escaped her jaws. For a moment, she forgot about what had just happened. But then she remembered.

"Oh StarClan," she moaned, "how could this happen? Why are all the cats close to me dying?"

She didn't expect an answer, so she was surprised when a soft voice spoke out of the silence. "StarClan doesn't control everything."

Sunpaw's head snapped up, and her eyes widened when she saw who it was- Meadowleaf! The pretty tortoiseshell padded forward, her eyes displaying sympathy. But the golden-colored apprentice didn't want sympathy; she wanted answers.

"But StarClan _does _control _some_ things . . . like prophecies. Can't you tell what that prophecy is about? I don't even know what it means but it practically controls my life! I can't even live normally."

"You're not ready to know that yet," Meadowleaf said slowly. It was obvious she was trying to keep her patience, but Sunpaw was too confused to pay attention.

"But why not?" She was trying not to sound upset, but it was hard; dream or real, the blow of losing a Clanmate was always hard.

"Do you realize that the rest of StarClan will be very upset if they realize I'm talking to you?" Meadowleaf queried. "You need to figure it out on your own, and you will; I believe in you."

"It's not fair," Sunpaw whispered, and before she realized it, tears were flowing from her eyes. [**A/N: do cats cry? I don't know, but they do in this story ^_^]**

"I w- would rather die and be in StarClan," she sobbed. "I just don't know what I'm doing anymore."

The StarClan cat rubbed her flank against Sunpaw's, and they stood in silence for a while. It may have been a dream, but Sunpaw felt as comforted as if she was in the real world. Finally, after giving Sunpaw a quick lick on the shoulder, Meadowleaf began to walk away into the shadows.

"You have cats who love and need you down there, Sunpaw. Your destiny is far from complete, and don't worry; Flamefeather or I will never be too far away."

At the sound of the handsome ginger tom's name, Sunpaw breathed a sigh of relief. With them in her thoughts, she was able to come back to consciousness with a new hope . . .


	16. Chapter 14

**Here it is- the last chapter! I really hope everyone who's been reading this has loved it, because I loved writing about these characters (and I should, after spending a couple years planning it out…). Haha but anyway, I promise that I'm going to start writing volume 2 as soon as possible! It might be hard, since I have a lot of things going on, but I promise, I won't abandon this trilogy. After all, I won't be able to rest until Sunpaw's story is complete. Also before I continue, thank you to Vic and Lightkit and everyone else reading my story; it means so much to know people like my stories. So now, on with the story, and again, I hope you all love it! Love you all for supporting me. =]**

**Disclaimer: For the last time in this story, I don't own Warriors in any shape or form. **

Chapter 14

"Look; she's waking up!"

"Can I go tell him?"

"Hush, can't you see how tired she is?"

Listening to the mixed voices surrounding her, Sunpaw managed to open her bleary eyes. She winced as she moved her side, where a new gash had formed. She assumed Quailfeather had fixed it up, but it still stung. Glancing around her, she discovered many pairs of eyes staring at her, including most of the kits. Mousekit and Mudkit had abandoned a ball of moss to come and stare at her.

"W- what happened?" she meowed weakly. "I don't remember anything, not after . . ." She trailed off, and her Clanmates nodded to show they understood.

Quailfeather, Thrushwing, Deersprint, and Ripplestar were the ones surrounding her. Sunpaw was sure there were others in the den, but she was too tired to look; instead, she focused on Ripplestar. The silver leader's face looked greatly strained, as if the battle had been harder for her than it should have been. Also, her pelt seemed duller than usual.

"Well," Thrushwing started, "we weren't doing very well at first. They had so many warriors, more than I thought they had . . ."

Ripplestar interrupted when she saw how emotional the tortoiseshell was getting, and began to talk instead. Sunpaw cocked her head at how her mother was acting, and how sad she and Deersprint looked.

"Many of SunClan's warriors were being badly injured; even I could see we were fighting a losing battle, a battle that they we were not expecting. But then, something happened. The kits . . . they found their real mother and went with her. Just like that. As soon as they joined the group, Windyfur called them away, and they left. That was when we found you and Whitemist . . ."

But Sunpaw stopped paying attention after Ripplestar spoke of the kits. They left . . . even after Whitemist gave her life to save them, they still left. She could hardly believe what she was hearing.

"I'm still here!" a little voice squeaked. Sunpaw gasped and an involuntary purr rose to her throat. In front of her was Daisykit, hardly able to sit still. She purred as well and hurried over to give Sunpaw a big lick, who welcomed it. But she was still slightly confused about what had happened.

"So, uh, did your brother and sister . . . really leave?"

It must still have been a sore subject, because Daisykit winced slightly, but she tried to hide it. "Speckledkit and Gingerkit went with Heathertail back home. They- they heard what that one tom told me, about how it was our fault there was a fight, so they went with them so everyone would leave. I wouldn't go though . . . Whitemist died for me! I c- couldn't leave after that. I loved her . . ." Sunpaw wrapped her tail around Daisykit's tail to comfort her, and luckily the white kit didn't pull away.

"She would be proud of you," Sunpaw told the kit, but only barely. Whenever she thought of her mentor, she got choked up. "You'll be a brave SunClan warrior." She didn't dare to say aloud a question that also popped up in her mind- _What about when she has to fight her own kin?_

"Speaking of SunClan warriors," Deersprint added, glancing away from Sunpaw, "hopefully we won't have any attacks soon. We were badly injured."

_Badly injured . . . _Those words echoed in Sunpaw's mind. So many cats must've gotten hurt, and she was helpless! Struggling to get up, she twisted her neck to look around the medicine cat den, and her eyes opened even wider when she saw everyone there. So many hurt cats! Ashwhisker and Starlight were in a corner of the den, breathing raspy breaths. Eagleflight was asleep, and Sunpaw noticed a huge gash on his back. Seastone, Bluejay, Blackpaw, even Silvermoon; the poor queen must have been protecting her kits when she got hurt.

"Are they all going to be okay?" she breathed, almost too shocked to speak. How was it possible that these cats had been injured so badly from a short battle?

Quailfeather, although she seemed strained, purred and nodded. "I think so; I've tried my best for now. Blackpaw will be in here for a while because his back leg was pretty hurt, and Seastone's side had been bleeding out . . . but don't worry. StarClan will guide me through this." Sunpaw had to admire Quailfeather's deep faith in their ancestor warriors, despite how hard it must be.

"And then," the quiet medicine cat continued, "there's still Acornpaw . . ."

Acornpaw. Sunpaw felt her claws flex, and her body become rigid at the sound of her brother being in trouble. She had begun to shake, and she stared up at her mother with big eyes. This must have been why Thrushwing was so upset.

She could barely choke out her question. "Where is he?"

Somewhat reluctantly, Quailfeather pointed with her nose to one edge of the bramble-enclosed den, where Sunpaw hadn't looked. The dusky brown tom seemed even smaller than usual, his fur matted down and his breathing rough. Despite her pains, Sunpaw jumped up from her spot and padded over to her brother. She bent down and licked a piece of his fur down, making him open his amber eyes slightly.

"Oh, Sunpaw, it's you," he mumbled. He paused a moment before continuing, a little more enthusiasm in his voice. "Did you see me? I was fighting two huge warriors at once! I would've beat them, too, but another cat snuck up on me and—," but he had to stop as his body convulsed in a fit of coughing. Quailfeather rushed over, bringing an herb to him. Sunpaw felt like she was frozen in place, being helpless while her brother was in pain. She spun around to face her leader.

"What's going to happen to him?" she urged.

Ripplestar hesitated for a heartbeat, but something in Sunpaw's look must have made her speak. "Quailfeather told me that he won't be completely healed for more than a quarter moon, so he won't be fit enough to leave the medicine den for a while. The same goes for Blackpaw . . . they may not receive their warrior names for a little while."

Sunpaw's tail drooped to the ground in sadness for her brother, and even Blackpaw. The black tom may be annoying, but he had been an apprentice while Sunpaw was a kit, and he did deserve it. Meanwhile, Acornpaw was coughing again, and he probably hadn't even heard what Ripplestar had said.

"But this night won't be all bad. Tonight, I think you and Minnowpaw are deserving of a ceremony."

A warrior . . . that night, Sunpaw was going to become a warrior, what she had dreamed of being ever since she was born. But although her face lit up for a second, she wasn't completely distracted from what this meant. She would be becoming a warrior before her own brother. _Acornpaw . . . _

Acornpaw did hear that, though, and he tried to purr. "Go get 'em. Just wait- when I'm a warrior, you'll have to watch out for me."

She purred as her brother closed his eyes then, too exhausted to stay awake. That reminded her of her other friends; she hadn't seen them yet! She'd missed so much since she went unconscious. Who knew what had happened since then?

"Um, Thrushwing, where're Minnowpaw and Cinderpaw?" she wondered.

Sunpaw's mother twitched her whiskers in amusement before replying. "Last time I saw Cinderpaw, he was leaving the camp to go hunting. I think he was going to get something for you. As for Minnowpaw, I believe he finally settled into his nest to take a nap. He's constantly been in here, worrying over you, so Quailfeather finally forced him to leave and relax a little."

Not even asking Quailfeather if she was fit to leave the den, Sunpaw made her way to the apprentice den, where Minnowpaw was settled between the ferns. She cautiously approached him so she wouldn't scare him half to death, and then nudged him with her paw. His eyes opened sluggishly, and his mouth opened into a giant yawn, but once he saw Sunpaw, he instantly lit up.

"You're awake!" he exclaimed, tail curling up. "I- I was worried, since you were sleeping for a long time- I mean, the whole night, and part of today . . . Not that I was watching! Well, sometimes I was, but only to make sure you were okay." The silver tom trailed off, though, and he looked at the ground in embarrassment; Sunpaw didn't even notice, though, because she was just happy that he was okay as well.

Morningdew, who was nonchalantly walking by, rolled her eyes. "Smooth, Minnowpaw," she purred.

But then Cinderpaw came bounding into camp with a bird clamped in his jaws. Compared to the others, he seemed virtually unhurt; he actually looked much brighter than before. When he spotted Sunpaw, he faltered for a second before walking over to her. She gulped but didn't move, while Minnowpaw subconsciously moved closer to her.

"Here," he mumbled, dropping the fat bird at Sunpaw's paws. "You're still hurt, and I know you always liked the taste of starlings, so . . ."

She knew that he had forgiven her, despite how quiet he seemed, so she didn't need to speak. Instead she blinked in gratefulness, and he nodded before turning and heading back out. She and Minnowpaw stood together underneath the midday sun, letting it warm their pelts, before Sunpaw decided to tell him the good news.

"Guess what?" she asked her friend.

Minnowpaw didn't seem to be paying attention; he was staring at a bird flying overhead. "What is it?" he responded absently.

"Tonight we're going to be warriors!" He gasped and turned to face her, asking if it was true. She purred, nodding, and then decided to head back to the medicine den. If she was going to be able to stay awake that night for her vigil, she would need to rest; besides, if her mother saw her walking around the camp for this long, she would be rather upset.

* **

As soon as that day had come, it passed, and Sunpaw was ready for the night. Ripplestar had leaped onto the StarRock and called for a Clan meeting, and now everyone was gathered outside. Sunpaw sat anxiously at the rock, trying not to act like a kit. Next to her, Minnowpaw was more serious, but she could make out the excitement that was in his eyes. In the crowd, she saw Cinderpaw who was looking at her encouragingly, and in the medicine den there was Acornpaw; she could tell he was tired, but his eyes were open and warm when she looked over at him.

Suddenly, she thought she saw a strange group of pale cats in the back. But once she blinked, they were gone. Sunpaw shook her head to clear her mixed-up thoughts as Ripplestar began to speak.

"Cats of SunClan, despite the sadness we have just faced, we are still strong; we show that by appointing new warriors, protectors of our Clan. Sunpaw and Minnowpaw, you fought hard in the battle last night, and it is time you receive your warrior names."

There it was again. That faint, ghostly group of cats. She couldn't even make out what they looked like, only that they were there. Soon they were gone, and Sunpaw realized that Ripplestar was in the middle of making Minnowpaw a warrior.

"Then by the power of StarClan, I give you your warrior name," the leader announced. "Minnowpaw, from now on you shall be known as Minnowfin. StarClan honors your courage and compassion, and we welcome you as a full warrior of SunClan." She placed her muzzle on the top of Minnowfin's head to finish his naming, and then moved onto Sunpaw. The apprentice wanted to cheer for her friend, but she stayed in place.

"Sunpaw," Ripplestar began again, "do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

She may have been uncertain before, but now she was as ready as she'd ever be. "I do," she promised, and she meant it.

She could barely sit still as the gray she-cat continued to speak. "Then by the power of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Sunpaw, from now you will be known as Sunstream. StarClan honors your bravery and spirit, and we welcome you as a full warrior of SunClan."

_Sunstream. _She had a real warrior name now. Her Clanmates called, "Minnowfin! Sunstream!", and she swelled with pride. Despite all of the things that happened throughout her apprenticeship, she had made it, and now here she was. It was almost impossible for her to comprehend. Minnowfin seemed just as excited as well; beside her, he seemed to be quivering.

"Minnowfin and Sunstream will be keeping vigil tonight until dawn, as is the tradition," Ripplestar finished.

As soon as she hopped off of the rock, Sunstream and Minnowfin did the same, and soon they were surrounded by other cats. There were a few exceptions of course- Stormhawk was his usual self, already heading to the warriors den (_our new den! _Sunstream thought excitedly), and there were still many cats in the medicine den, but overall, everyone looked happy.

Eventually, the group of cats dissolved into their own nests, and soon Sunstream and her silver friend were left alone. They began to settle themselves in front of the camp entrance, and for once, the night seemed peaceful. With a pang, she wondered if Whitemist had been watching over her, like Minnowfin's mentor Birchwind had.

_I hope I made you proud, _she thought, looking up into the sky. A new star had formed, shining brightly, which made Sunstream purr. There she was, her mentor, watching over her Clanmates.

Time ticked by, and Sunstream had gotten used to sitting there; she and Minnowfin weren't allowed to speak, so it was rather quiet. It was then, when she was sitting there and doing nothing, when her surroundings disappeared, and she found herself somewhere else. She was sitting in a vague forest, paler and less lifelike than the actual SunClan territory. A vision? She didn't get up; instead, she watched as a scene formed. There were four cats, standing on top of a rock. She couldn't even see their faces, but they look oddly familiar . . . They displayed an air of power, but there was something else in the air. It was tense and quiet and . . . dangerous. And then, the prophecy played inside of her head. _The destiny of the Clans will be in the paws of Sun, Sky, Cloud, and Moon._

No! She didn't want to think about the prophecy, not now, when she was trying to focus. She closed her eyes and anxiously shook her head to rid herself of the vision, and relief filled her when she looked up and everything was back to normal. Minnowfin glanced at her curiously, but she only shook her head again, too confused to do anything else. He shrugged and continued to look forward, but Sunstream couldn't concentrate anymore. Apparently, that prophecy would never leave her. Even when it had nothing to do with her, she had to carry the burden of its mystery.

Well, she would carry it if she had to. And now, since she was a warrior, maybe she could get some answers. Yes, it would take some time, but Sunstream was going to work out what the prophecy meant. Flamefeather and Meadowleaf would be there to help her if she needed it, and she would use all of her strength to stay strong and true. This was her destiny; it had to be.

The End


	17. Author's Note

**A/N: Hi everyone who is reading/read this story! I just wanted to say, in case you didn't see, Volume 2 of the Rising Sun is now up! Now go and read, please, so you can review and tell me what to do next! =] **

**(sorry if you thought this was an extra part of the story, lol)**


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